Fine Gael has called for the Garda to investigate the role of the two judges in the Philip Sheedy drunk driving case, and to prepare a file for the Director of Public Prosecutions. However, according to the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, it was time to move on. In a statement read on his behalf by the Minister of State, Ms Mary Wallace, he said it was an unhappy reality that "some truths will only be partially revealed and that we may never get the full facts in particular situations".

Speaking during a debate on the Oireachtas Committee report about the early release from prison of Philip Sheedy, Ms Wallace said: "It is my honest belief that it is also now time for us to accept this reality and to move on from this episode.

"We must look to the future and learn the lessons from these events so as to avoid a repetition." The Minister said that in the discussions of the matter "we must never forget the primary victims in this whole controversy are the Ryan family whose private grief has been constantly intruded upon by these very necessary discussions."

Fine Gael's justice spokesman, Mr Jim Higgins, said that the two judges in the case, the former Mr Justice Hugh O'Flaherty and former Mr Justice Cyril Kelly, had played key roles in the perverting of justice. This was a criminal offence. He said he shared the Labour party view that a tribunal of inquiry would be the best option at this stage to investigate the matter fully. Such a tribunal need not be a protracted affair. The number of personalities involved was limited and well-known and the tribunal could be chaired by a judge or former judge from another jurisdiction.

However, the Minister in his statement ruled out a tribunal and said: "It may well be that a tribunal of inquiry would stand little better prospect of bringing matters to a satisfactory conclusion".

Ms Monica Barnes, vice-chairwoman of the Committee on Justice, Equality and Women's rights which prepared the report, said there was a need for accountability within the judicial system "which clearly does not exist at present". She said that the volume of correspondence and comment to members of the committee demonstrated an "anger and frustration and a demand for answers surrounding this issue".

She said the report conveyed the need for the establishment of a judicial body "which would contribute to high standards of judicial conduct and establish a system for the handling of complaints of judicial conduct".