Ms Beverly Cooper-Flynn faces automatic expulsion from the Fianna Fail parliamentary party after voting against the Government in the debate about her father, the EU Commissioner, Mr Padraig Flynn.

The Government amendment to the Fine Gael motion called for Mr Flynn to make a full immediate statement clarifying his position regarding allegations that he received £50,000 while minister for the environment in 1989.

It remained unclear until the vote what Ms Cooper-Flynn's stance might be.

Initially, she had voted with the Government against a Fine Gael amendment calling for the issue to be reconsidered in three weeks. It was the first of three votes and the Government won by 79 to 75 votes.

After that first division and vote, the Mayo TD left the chamber and there was speculation that she might not vote at all.

But on the second and crucial vote she remained seated until all her Government colleagues had voted and then, with every journalist on the gallery watching, she left her seat and moved briskly up the stairs and over to the Opposition side.

There was a brief, almost shocked, silence on the Government side, then deputies resumed talking.

The Mayo TD then left the chamber and did not return for the third and final vote on the original Fine Gael motion. It called for Mr Flynn to make a full statement and failing that the Dail would consider in a fortnight if the Commissioner should continue in office.

The House has agreed to call for Mr Flynn to make a full statement about the allegations made by the British-based businessman, Mr Tom Gilmartin, that he received £50,000 while a minister in 1989.

During the debate, Ms Cooper-Flynn said that until she saw the votes counted, she would not bring herself to believe the party she knew would collaborate with the Opposition on a "tacky" motion.

"The Fianna Fail party, I believe, has a future . . . and would not collaborate with the Opposition to damage a man Fianna Fail knows is committed to Ireland in Europe in a powerfully effective way.

"The Fianna Fail which should lead this country in the next century would not abandon leadership on this issue. It would not act as if it was helpless in the face of an unstoppable process and, above all, it would not ask its members to put their names to something which, as individuals, they neither believe in nor approve of.

"In loyalty to the Fianna Fail party, its ideals, its leadership and its members, who have shown me such friendship and support, not least in the last few days, I will not, therefore, put my name to a motion which is empty, except for the seeds of the long-term damage to my party."

She described the Fine Gael motion as a fake. "It is letting on to be suddenly concerned about an allegation which appeared in print five months ago. What's new to justify the hysterical tone of this motion? What is different?"

She disputed the Tanaiste's assertion that Mr Flynn's position was impossible. "Clearly that is not the position. Jacques Santer does not think his position is impossible. The Irish Government knows very well that his position is not impossible. In fact, it is vital."

She said Fianna Fail should not collude in its own destruction, or collude "in the continuing portrayal of our party as intrinsically, essentially and eternally flawed by seeming to reward others who claimed to be its moral guardians. Every time we do it, we are buying today's survival at the cost of tomorrow's existence. We are eroding our faith in ourselves and we are betraying our supporters."

She urged that when the proceedings were over, all members of the House stand back and reflect on what had been happening over the past three months.

"We have seen the work of the Oireachtas trivialised, and we have nobody to blame but ourselves. We set up tribunals and then we run scared, unwilling and unable to wait on the due process they entail. We are the elected representatives of the people and yet we allow ourselves to become putty in the hands of influences around and outside us."

The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, said: "The Government amendment preserves natural justice for Commissioner Flynn, whether you agree with him or not. We call loudly for an explanation at this stage. We believe that clarification would be in the interest of all, including the Commissioner himself."