The former Minister for Justice, Mr Patrick Cooney, has demanded a retraction of what he maintains was a suggestion by the Taoiseach that he acted improperly in tapping the telephone of the journalist Vincent Browne in 1975.
The Government was last night considering Mr Cooney's demand and said it would reply to a letter received by the Taoiseach yesterday from Mr Cooney.
In his letter Mr Cooney objected to part of the speech Mr Ahern made last week apologising for "the inappropriate invasion" of the privacy of journalists Bruce Arnold, Geraldine Kennedy and Vincent Browne through the tapping of their telephones.
Mr Ahern said he was apologising "on behalf of the State and, so far as my own party are concerned, for the inappropriate invasion of their privacy and interference by the State with their role as journalists".
He said he was doing this "notwithstanding the fact that many of those in charge of security may, according to their lights at the time, have felt they were carrying out their duty in accordance with law." Mr Cooney has taken exception to the Taoiseach's remarks, seeing them as implying criticism of his behaviour as Minister for Justice in the 1970s.
He took an action against the State on the same matter three years ago, after the State paid £95,000 to Vincent Browne in settlement of an action he took.
On that occasion Mr Cooney's action was settled, with the Department of Justice saying Mr Cooney was involved in no wrongdoing regarding his authorisation of the tapping Mr Browne's telephone in 1975.
Mr Cooney maintained yesterday that Mr Ahern's speech last week implied that the out of court settlement with Vincent Browne "was caused or contributed to by some improper or illegal act by me when I was Minister for Justice".
He said the Taoiseach had implied he had invaded Mr Browne's privacy, improperly interfered with his role as a journalist and carried out his duties as Minister for Justice "subjectively and capriciously in ignorance of or disregarding the law and the requirements imposed on me by it."
He also objected to equating his actions as minister "with the clearly unlawful actions of your party colleague, Mr Seβn Doherty TD, in respect of Mr Arnold and Ms Kennedy".
He said Mr Ahern had made this speech despite the statement of three years ago exonerating him from any improper behaviour.
"This statement openly and specifically acknowledged that the discharge by me of my ministerial functions had no part whatsoever in the payment of compensation to Mr Browne, and that in authorising the interception of telecommunications I had complied fully and meticulously with the law," said Mr Cooney.