FF response: The Opposition parties have been accused by Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism John O'Donoghue of "play-acting" with the controversy over the Taoiseach's loans.
He said he didn't expect that the Opposition would publicly admit they accepted Mr Ahern's explanations for the loans.
"But I think that it is indicative of their real state of mind that they have not at any point questioned the Taoiseach's capacity to continue on as Taoiseach. The reason for that is that they know full well what [ really] happened and they also know full well that he made a full and deep discovery of his documentation on all matters to the tribunal."
Mr O'Donoghue said he believed the Opposition parties were "trying to drag it out for as long as they possibly can for political motives. There's an awful lot of play-acting going on here. They quite well understand that there was no dishonesty and there was no impropriety on the part of the Taoiseach."
Asked about the €8,000 sterling payment for public-speaking engagements in Manchester, Mr O'Donoghue said "the Taoiseach has adequately dealt with that".
He said people knew what Mr Ahern was really like. "I think they know that he is a decent and honourable man, and I think that he's a man who has a great deal of public respect."
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin said the Taoiseach had answered all questions.
"The questions that the Opposition asked were: who gave, how much and were there tax liabilities? And he's answered those three questions so that should be the end of it now."
She said he had volunteered the information about the Manchester fee and there was no question that the tribunal was investigating it.
While Mr Ahern said he felt he had been damaged by the revelations, Ms Hanafin said she did not think the Fianna Fáil party had been damaged.
"There is a genuine acceptance in the Irish public that he is a man of integrity, that he is not somebody who is caught in the trappings of power or of money, and so I think that hasn't affected people's confidence in him or in the party."
