Former Taoiseach, Mr Albert Reynolds, has not responded to demands from the Fianna Fail chief whip, Mr Seamus Brennan, that he turn up for Dail votes.
The chief whip has not seen Mr Reynolds since he lost the vote for the position of party candidate in the presidential election on September 17th. He has not turned up for Dail votes since then.
With the Government relying on the votes of Independents, Fianna Fail has been imposing 3line whips for every Dail vote. Mr Reynolds has ignored every one of them since his defeat. The party is now worried that Mr Reynolds might not turn up for the Budget vote on December 3rd.
"I presume he'll be there for the budget vote," said a senior party source. "If not, then that would be very serious and we would be very concerned."
Mr Reynolds's whereabouts are unknown to his party and he has not responded to communications sent to his office. He is thought to be abroad on business. "It would be useful if he told us."
Normally, the party would penalise a deputy who ignored 3-line whips but because Mr Reynolds is a former Taoiseach and known to be bitterly disappointed over not being selected as the Fianna Fail presidential candidate, no action has been taken. Also, there probably is little the party can do.
Fianna Fail currently has 76 deputies in the Dail and the PDs four. With two by-elections pending, the Government needs 82 deputies on its side to win a vote. With the support of Independents Mr Jackie Healy-Rae, Ms Mildred Fox and Mr Harry Blaney, they can win without Mr Reynolds's support.
But if the two by-elections are won by non-government TDs, Mr Reynolds's attitude towards his party could become crucial to the survival of the Government.
Mr Reynolds only went forward in the last general election because it was his understanding that he would be the party's presidential candidate, a former associate of Mr Reynolds said.
