Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is facing mounting political and legal difficulties as he attempts to deal with the fallout from the disclosure that he received payments from wealthy friends when he was minister for finance in 1993.
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said last night that the failure of Mr Ahern to deal with the questions about the money he received in 1993 meant that the Dáil had no alternative but to deal with the matter when it resumed on Wednesday.
On the legal front, a law brought into force by Tánaiste Michael McDowell last spring has added to the difficulties faced by Mr Ahern in attempt to prevent the Mahon tribunal obtaining information relating to the financial aspects of his separation from his wife, Miriam.
Under Section 40 of the Civil Liability and Courts Bill, 2004, the "in camera" rule in family law cases may not be used to prevent the production of a document, or the giving of information, to a hearing or inquiry established by law.
The President of the High Court, Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan, is due to hear the case being taken by the Taoiseach and his former wife on October 10th to prevent the disclosure to the tribunal of information relating to their separation agreement.
Mr Ahern has said that the payments were intended to help him financially at the time of his separation.
He will be under pressure from the Opposition to tell the Dáil how much he received in 1993, the identity of the donors, whether he paid tax on the money, if it was given in the form of gifts or, if it was in the form of loans, why he did not declare it in his annual statement of interests to the Standards in Public Office Commission.
At the weekend, Mr Ahern issued a further statement on the controversy saying that he could not discuss confidential matters relating to the tribunal. He added: "I have never received a bribe in my life. Everybody knows and sees that my lifestyle is as simple as it is honest. I have broken no law or violated any code of ethics."
Two Cabinet Ministers, Séamus Brennan and Willie O'Dea, yesterday defended the Taoiseach. Mr Brennan told RTÉ's Week in Politics programme that Mr Ahern would be giving a lot of thought as to how he would respond to the controversy.
Mr McDowell and other PD politicians declined to make any comment on the issue yesterday.
Mr Rabbitte maintained that the manner in which Mr Ahern had dealt with the issue since the story first appeared in The Irish Times had increased public concern.
"In Clare on Thursday last the Taoiseach appeared to confirm the substance of the story and took issue only with the amounts quoted in the article. However, when issues were then raised as to how the monies may have been handled for tax purposes, a series of sources close to the Taoiseach were then sent out to brief the media with an entirely different version, ie, that it was not four businessmen, but 10 or 11, and that the money was in the form of loans that the Taoiseach had not yet got round to paying back," he said.
Mr Rabbitte said it was now essential for Mr Ahern to come into the Dáil on Wednesday and make a full statement on all circumstances of the payments.
"One of the stranger aspects of this affair is the absolute silence of the Progressive Democrats. Are we to assume that the party has departed so far from the standards of Des O'Malley that not a single PD deputy or senator has any concerns about these extraordinary revelations?" asked Mr Rabbitte.
Fine Gael environment spokesman Fergus O'Dowd also demanded a statement from the PDs. "The Tánaiste's silence following the Taoiseach's admission that he received cash gifts from a number of prominent businessmen is deafening. It is astonishing, for the first time in recent Irish political history that Michael McDowell has not had a view and been willing to express it forcibly."
