The Fine Gael leader, Mr Bruton, accused the Government of 'monumental incompetence' in its response to Mr Justice Flood's request for a change to the planning tribunal's terms of reference.

The Government's plan to introduce new legislation on tribunals to apply retrospectively to the Flood tribunal was 'legally dubious', said Mr Bruton.

However, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said it was the Attorney General's advice that the Government could not change a tribunal's terms of reference once it had been established.

Successive governments had been furnished with the same legal advice and legislation would have to be introduced.

During a heated Dail debate over the Government's response to Mr Justice Flood's request that the tribunal's terms of reference be widened, Mr Bruton said the Government had displayed 'monumental incompetence'.

He questioned whether the Government was serious in its pledge to introduce legislation to amend the terms.

Mr Ahern said he had asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, to prepare a Bill amending the Tribunals of Inquiry Act. This would be a relatively short Bill to amend the 1921 and 1979 Acts regarding tribunals of inquiry and it was intended to have the legislation passed as quickly as possible.

Mr Bruton said the Government possessed the power to amend the Flood tribunal's terms of reference without introducing legislation. Mr Justice Flood would not have requested this alteration unless he believed this was possible, said Mr Bruton.

The Government was being 'extremely foolish' and was following 'a mistaken course' in proposing fresh legislation.

In reply, Mr Ahern said the Government had received legal advice on the matter from the Attorney General that it could not change the tribunal's terms of reference. Mr Bruton said this was 'totally wrong'.

However, he said successive Attorneys General had given the same advice on this matter.

'We have received a request from Justice Flood and on the basis of legal advice this is how we will achieve it,' said Mr Ahern.

Mr Bruton; the Labour leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn; and the Democratic Left leader, Mr Prionsias De Rossa; demanded to know whether the Government intended to change the Moriarty tribunal's terms of reference to include the Ansbacher accounts.

Mr Ahern said the 1921 tribunals legislation was general and that any change would be applicable generally. He had received no request from any other judge about other tribunals.

The off-shore accounts, which were uncovered by the work of the McCracken tribunal, were being thoroughly investigated by the Moriarty tribunal and examined by the Revenue Commissioners, the Central Bank and an inspectorate from the Department of Employment, Trade and Enterprise, said Mr Ahern.

'As already stated, these accounts are being investigated to death.' He said the only thing not published is the list of names. 'If no wrongdoing is found, we will not need to do that,' he said.