The Taoiseach has defended taking £8,000 sterling from a group of Manchester businessmen when he was minister for finance in the 1990s.
Speaking to reporters today Mr Ahern said he had not broken any ethical standards or tax rules in taking the money for an after-dinner speech on the Irish economy.
In the Dáil earlier, Tánaiste Michael McDowell refused to debate the circumstances surrounding the payment but, under pressure from an angry Opposition, he suggested party whips meet and arrange for discussions to be held in the House next week.
Mr Ahern said he had mentioned the Manchester payment during Tuesday evening's RTÉ television interview "because I wanted to give it completeness, I said this was another issue I felt I should mention".
During that interview, Mr Ahern also admitted to getting a €50,000 loan from a group of friends at the time of his marriage break-up in 1993 and 1994.
On the Manchester payment, Mr Ahern said today: "I'm a regular visitor to Manchester, have been for 34 years. I've always been very involved with the Irish community in Manchester.
"I did the dinner a number of times . . . often go along, you know, to speak about what's going on in Ireland, what's happening . . . was it official? No, it was not an offical dinner, I had no official script, my costs in Manchester I paid myself as I always do," he said.
"So, no official script, not an official function, not in my capacity as Minister, paid my own way, spoke at the function and on one occasion the assembled group of about 25, plus the group who were with me from Ireland, gave me the sum of money that I mentioned. That's all that happened."
Mr Ahern went on to say he had "checked the ethics" and "it was found to be in order".
He added: "And I checked the tax position because a sum like that from outside the State up until 1999 wasn't taxable so that was it.
"Needless to say, it was not something I asked for, it was totally a surprise to me," he said.