Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Noel Treacy has been ordered to appear before the Mahon tribunal to explain his allegation that it had leaked information about Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's private finances.
The charge by the Galway East TD was made last Tuesday in an interview with Newstalk 106's Breakfast Show, although Mr Treacy was not available yesterday for comment.
In the interview, Mr Treacy said: "The Irish Times says that it has information from other sources, but it is a well-known fact that the tribunal leaks like a sieve and it is well-known who the conduit is.
"It is well-known that there is constant leaking for political purposes," he said, and when asked if the identity of the leaker was known, he added: "I think it is, yes."
However, he refused to go further when pressed by the programme's presenter, Ger Gilroy, "I am not going to comment about the activities of the tribunal," Mr Treacy said.
If Mr Treacy is unable to back up his allegations he is likely to be chastised by the tribunal, although it has, as yet, made no attempt to call Taoiseach Bertie Ahern before them for strikingly similar criticisms.
In his ruling on Thursday regarding The Irish Times, Judge Alan Mahon said it was "mindful of the fact that public confidence in the integrity of the tribunal is essential" for its work to succeed.
"Any suggestion that the tribunal was acting to single out or damage the interest of any particular individual or group is without foundation," the judge said in a detailed statement.
"The tribunal takes this opportunity to request any person who has any evidence or any information whatsoever, which may suggest that the tribunal itself has in any way leaked confidential information to bring that information to my attention.
"I give my assurance that the matter will be fully investigated by me as part of the inquiry which was initiated by me immediately following upon the publication in The Irish Times on the 21st September, 2006," the judge went on.
Last night, a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman, speaking on behalf of Mr Treacy, said he would not be making any further comment until he appeared before the tribunal.
In the Dáil on Thursday, Mr Ahern was clearly critical of the tribunal when he said that he had been told that he could not speak about the information he has given to Mahon, yet it has then emerged into the public arena.
"What I am up against is that on the one side I am told not to give all the information that I dealt with in the tribunal and on the other side, all the information I gave to the tribunal is in the public domain in the hands of some people."
He also said he had given all "of the invoices" about the purchase of the house in Beresford Avenue off Griffith Avenue to the tribunal. "I will wake up one of these mornings to see them in the newspapers too, I have no doubt, because it seems as if everything I gave in is out.
"That is how I feel about it. I can do nothing about it and I can do nothing about the other issues," he said.