THE Attorney General, Mr Dermot Gleeson, has come under renewed assault from Fianna Fail for his role in the Judge Dominic Lynch affair.
As the courts today prepare to hear appeals for the release of high security prisoners from custody because of their earlier, unlawful detention, Fianna Fail's deputy leader, Mrs Mary O'Rourke, and party whip, Mr Dermot Ahern, said Mr Gleeson's role in the affair warranted his resignation.
A joint Fianna Fail/Progressive Democrats motion expressing "no confidence" in the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, and Mr Gleeson was defeated in the Dail last week. But opposition parties are determined to press the matter further and have called for the publication of all correspondence between the Attorney General and the Minister on the affair.
An inquiry's findings on why the judge was not informed of his removal from the Special Criminal Court by the Government last August is expected to be presented to Mrs Owen today. She will consider the report before bringing it to the Cabinet tomorrow, and it is likely to be published shortly thereafter.
Fianna Fail has already submitted 70 Dail questions on the issue to the Taoiseach and the Minister for reply during tomorrow's business. The controversy is certain to dominate Dail business again this week.
If the courts free one or more of the prisoners involved in the administrative debacle, enormous pressure will be exerted on Mrs Owen to resign, despite her earlier assertions that she would not. Mr Eric Byrne of Democratic Left has already said publicly that such a development would warrant her resignation and privately several of her Fine Gael colleagues agree.
A report in yesterday's Sunday Independent that nine Labour Party TDs believed she should have resigned was described as "contemptible" by a party spokesman who "did not believe a word of it". Why were the WP not named, he asked. It was a completely spurious story, designed to sow divisions between the Government parties", he insisted.
Last night Mr Ahern did not accept the defence offered by the Taoiseach for Mr Gleeson's failure to act on the matter. The relationship between his office, the Government and the people of the State was much more special than a normal lawyer client relationship, he said.
"Under the Constitution and Statute he has a dual role, being legal adviser to the Government and also guardian of the public interest in the administration of justice in the courts of the land."
Mr Gleeson's reaction to unfolding events raised serious questions. He apparently had not contacted the Taoiseach or the Director of Public Prosecutions in connection with the cases before the Special Criminal Court.
"We in Fianna Fail feel that it is not good enough for the Coalition party leaders to endeavour to `airbrush out' the Attorney General's role in all of this. Once he was put on notice about these severe difficulties, he had a bounden duty to act and to act vigorously," Mr Ahern said.