The Fine Gael spokesman on justice said considerable damage had been done to the credibility of the judicial system by the Sheedy case.

"The judicial system must at all times be seen to be fair, independent and above reproach. Cases like these shatter people's confidence in the system. It feeds a cynicism that there is one rule for certain people and another rule for the rest. That is an extremely serious situation."

Addressing Mr O'Donoghue, Mr Jim Higgins said: "Minister, you are responsible for the courts. You are not responsible for judicial decisions and nobody is asking for you to trespass into the domain of judicial independence. "You are, however, responsible for the administration and smooth functioning of the courts. The buck stops firmly at your feet for the maladministration which led to the listing and hearing of this case. You are the person who set down this standard by your insistence on such when in opposition in the Judge Dominic Lynch affair. Once again, under your jurisdiction, there has been a major systems failure."

Mr Higgins asked what or who had prompted Sheedy, a mere month after being given the right by Judge Joseph Matthews for a review of sentence after two years, to return to court and ask that this right be set aside. "We are no wiser to the reason that Sheedy, having signed a very strongly-worded affidavit objecting to the DPP's application, suddenly abandons his affidavit and the arguments contained therein on the day of the court and returns voluntarily to Mountjoy jail to serve out the remainder of his sentence. Who was he trying to shield? Why did Sheedy change his legal team?"

The Labour spokesman on justice, Mr Brendan Howlin, said the speed of the response of the Tanaiste was in marked contrast to that of the Minister and his Department. "In short, the Minister has had a very considerable length of time to discover the truth of the matter and put that information into the public domain. The response presented by his Minister of State to the adjournment debates tabled by Deputy Jim Higgins and myself on Tuesday last was at best woefully inadequate and disrespectful of this House."

He added that when the Attorney General contacted the Minister, alarm bells should have been ringing for Mr O'Donoghue. "The prime responsibility of any minister for justice is to ensure full and complete confidence in the impartial administration of justice. His handling of this affair to date has clearly failed that critical test. He cannot sidestep or offload this critical responsibility."