Barring a last-minute appeal to the Supreme Court, Mr Liam Lawlor TD is set tomorrow to become the first politician to be jailed as a result of investigations by a tribunal.
Last night the Taoiseach responded to the three-month jail sentence imposed on Mr Lawlor for failing to comply with a court order by indicating he may seek to remove Mr Lawlor from Dail committees.
A Government spokesman said a Dail motion calling for the removal of Mr Lawlor was a possibility. The Opposition called on Mr Lawlor to resign.
Mr Justice Smyth has ordered that the first seven days of Mr Lawlor's sentence be physically served from 2 p.m. tomorrow. The balance would be suspended to enable Mr Lawlor to comply with the original orders by providing the Flood tribunal with all the documents it required.
The West Dublin TD is to decide today whether to appeal the sentence or to seek a stay on its imposition, after consulting his legal team.
Mr Lawlor will be arrested unless he arranges to present himself to the Garda once the legal papers are prepared tomorrow afternoon. Mr Justice Smyth also imposed a fine of £10,000 for contempt of court.
Mr Lawlor now faces a further threat of imprisonment on a separate charge of obstructing the Flood tribunal. The Irish Times understands the tribunal has sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions arising out of his evidence last December. If found guilty of this offence, he could face a further fine of £10,000 and/or two years in jail.
Delivering his verdict yesterday, Mr Justice Smyth accused Mr Lawlor of "blatant defiance" of the tribunal. "That he did so as a citizen is a disgrace; that he did so as a public representative is a scandal," the judge said.
Mr Justice Smyth said he did not want to disenfranchise Mr Lawlor's constituents by imposing a long jail term. He also took into account a number of mitigating circumstances, including Mr Lawlor's apology and his promise to deliver all documents and answer all questions required by the tribunal.
Mr Lawlor declined to comment after the judgment. Costs for the four-day hearing were awarded against him, leaving him with a bill estimated at more than £100,000.
Mr Justice Smyth said there could be "no untouchables" in terms of the law. It was clear that Mr Lawlor's failure to comply with the court order was "not unintentional".
Mr Lawlor was ordered last October to appear before the Flood tribunal and to provide it with his company and financial records. The Supreme Court rejected an appeal against this order. He gave evidence to the tribunal for four days last month.
The rest of Mr Lawlor's three-month sentence was deferred until next November, to enable the tribunal to carry out its functions in an orderly manner. The judge directed that, apart from the first seven days, no part of the sentence was to be served between now and the end of March.