The Taoiseach challenged Fine Gael to name the current member of the Cabinet who it claims made representations to National Irish Bank (NIB) to have debts written off for Mr John Ellis.

The Sligo-Leitrim Fianna Fail TD was not in the chamber for the bitter exchanges, during which the Opposition repeatedly demanded to know if Mr Ahern had spoken to his Ministers about the matter.

Mr Ahern said the Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, seemed to have hard information about threats being made to the bank. "Yesterday I got the impression that Deputy Michael Noonan was about to mention the third name. If Deputy Noonan or Deputy Bruton have such evidence, it would help if they gave it to the House."

Addressing the Fine Gael benches, the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Ahern, said: "Put up or shut up."

Mr Bruton said he was concerned about the possibility that threats were made to the bank. There was an obligation on Mr Ahern, as Fianna Fail leader and head of the Government, to make inquiries as to whether anybody for whom he had accountability to the House or to the State was involved in such activity.

Mr Bruton said that Mr Ahern should not wait for people to come to him, but should ask them, "because he has a habit of averting his eyes on matters to which he does not want his attention drawn".

Mr Ahern said that none of his colleagues had given him any information to indicate they made representations, and he was sure they would if they had.

Pressed by the Fine Gael deputy leader, Mrs Nora Owen, to say if he had asked them, Mr Ahern said his office had made contact with NIB and it had been told that the bank had instituted a search of its records. "As of now, it has not uncovered any record of any contact between ministers or anyone else in connection with the case of Deputy Ellis. It told my office that if it uncovered any such records, it would inform us."

Mr Bruton said that a 90 per cent write-off from a bank was almost unprecedented, particularly where an asset of considerable value remained in the possession of the person whose debt had been written off.

"Why has the Taoiseach not asked his Ministers if any of them made representations? Why has he left it to them to come to him? Surely he has a proactive responsibility in regard to this matter? Surely he would regard it as a matter of the gravest concern if an implicit threat was made by any member of his party, whether a current Minister, to this bank about its future operations?"

The Labour leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, asked if Mr Ahern and Fianna Fail had learned nothing from the saga that resulted in the departure from the House and the Cabinet of Mr Ray Burke. "Bearing in mind that unhappy set of events, which resulted in the loss of a seat for the Fianna Fail party, will he not directly ask his Cabinet colleagues, who are sitting beside him, rather than institute the `up and down every tree' routine once again?"

Pointing to the Fine Gael benches, the Minister for the Marine, Dr Woods, remarked: "I thought McCarthyism was over on that side, not on the Labour side. That is an unusual line for the Labour Party." Mr Ahern said he had a relationship with his colleagues in Government and they spoke to him. "I do not have to chase them. If they have something to tell me, they will do so."

Earlier the Ceann Comhairle, Mr Seamus Pattison, said he would allow brief questions on the matter, but warned deputies that "these issues may come before the Moriarty tribunal", and that the House should not attempt to have a parallel tribunal. It was also a long-standing ruling of the Chair that serious charges may be made against a member only by way of substantive motion.

Mr Bruton asked if the Taoiseach agreed there was widespread concern about the matter and that it was a cause of public scandal.

"Does he also agree it is questionable whether it is appropriate for the deputy in question to remain as chairman of a committee of this House in the circumstances, particularly a committee which deals directly with the area in which he was engaged in a failed business?"

He also urged Mr Ahern to seek clarification from the Attorney General on whether the Moriarty tribunal had any jurisdiction in the matter. His reading of the terms of reference suggested it did not, because it was confined to payments to named individuals and Mr Ellis was not a named individual.

Mr Quinn said that the Taoiseach had exonerated himself on Wednesday night from the charge of bringing influence to bear on National Irish Bank and its chief executive, Mr Lacey, on behalf of Mr Ellis. "Will he now ensure that the serving members of his Cabinet exonerate themselves from any such charge, bearing in mind the seriousness of the suggestion, implicit in the report yesterday, that undue influence of a threatening nature was brought to bear on a bank whose ownership had recently changed and that it would not be in the best interests of the new owners to effectively jeopardise the survival of the government?

"Does he think, as a former minister for finance, that direct representations by a minister for finance, Deputy Albert Reynolds, who admitted that it probably happened, although he cannot remember it, were appropriate in the circumstances? Will he offer a personal view on the matter?"

Mr Ahern said that, unfortunately, it was a sad fact that a number of serving and former members of the House had found themselves in financial difficulties.

"I am not aware of any facts about the case of Deputy Ellis which make it different from previous instances involving current or former deputies. However, if anyone has any evidence to the contrary, it is incumbent on them to furnish it to the Moriarty tribunal or to state it publicly.

"We should be careful, both inside and outside the House, not to give credence to unsubstantiated allegations or reports but to seek to have them examined in an appropriate way.