Fianna Fail TD Mr John Ellis came under increased pressure last night to resign as chairman of the Dail Committee on Agriculture and the Marine after the PD Minister of State, Ms Liz O'Donnell, called on him to consider his position.
The call from Ms O'Donnell was the first public comment on the matter from any of the Government parties.
Ms O'Donnell said she was not happy that Mr Ellis was still chairman of the committee. Asked if he should resign, she replied: "If you ask me my personal view, yes, I think he should consider his position."
The Minister's comments came after the chairman of the Fianna Fail Parliamentary Party, Dr Rory O'Hanlon, and the Government Chief Whip, Mr Seamus Brennan, met the Sligo-Leitrim deputy in Leinster House yesterday. They are expected to report to the Taoiseach later this week.
It is understood that senior Fianna Fail figures are unhappy that Mr Ellis has not yet opted to resign his position voluntarily. One source said they would prefer a "clean head on a plate" rather than have "blood spilled" at next Wednesday's meeting of the Agriculture Committee, when Fine Gael will propose a motion of no confidence in Mr Ellis.
Fine Gael called on Mr Ellis to resign his position - worth £10,000 a year in expenses - after it emerged that he had a debt of u 423,000 £243,000 written off by National Irish Bank in 1991. The revelation angered a group of western farmers, who were owed £300,000 by Mr Ellis after his meat business collapsed in the late 1980s.
There are 19 committee members: nine Fianna Fail, six Fine Gael, one Labour and three Independents. The Labour member, Mr William Penrose, told The Irish Times last night he would vote with Fine Gael on the no-confidence motion.
If Independent members Senator Feargal Quinn and Mr Michael Lowry TD also vote for the motion, Mr Ellis's fate will be in the hands of the third Independent member, Mr Harry Blaney, who is formally supporting the Fianna Fail/Progressive Democrat Government.
Dr O'Hanlon said yesterday he saw no reason why there would not be a whip on a vote at committee on the motion. Asked if the whip would apply to Mr Blaney, the Fianna Fail chairman said the whip only applied to members of the parliamentary party.
Mr Blaney said last night he would not be commenting on the matter until he consulted his fellow committee members.
Dr O'Hanlon refused to say what was discussed at the meeting with Mr Ellis. "That is an internal party matter. The question of his chairmanship of the committee is a matter for the committee."
There is growing unease among Mr Ellis's Fianna Fail committee colleagues about the controversy. While none has commented publicly, some have taken soundings from Ministers as to whether they should privately exert pressure on him to step down in advance of a no-confidence vote.