The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, have appealed for reasoned debate from both Government parties on the asylum-seekers controversy in an attempt to defuse Fianna Fail/Progressive Democrat tensions over the issue.
The appeal came as Mr O'Donoghue faces an Opposition motion of no confidence in the Dail on Tuesday over his handling of the crisis.
In a clear reference to controversial statements by Minister of State Ms Liz O'Donnell and Fianna Fail TD and Eastern Health Board chairman Mr Ivor Callely, Mr Ahern said remarks last week "just made a difficult situation more difficult".
He said anything which created tensions was "unhelpful" and he appealed to everybody in both parties to "just deal with the situation".
But he appeared to defend Mr Callely, who called for illegal immigrants to be "thrown out" of the State, when he told the Sunday Independent: "I'd have to say I read Ivor Callely's statements, as distinct from remarks that were made afterwards, and I didn't see any great difficulty in them."
The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, yesterday asked people on all sides of the debate to act "rationally and calmly".
"We are not used to immigration in this country as of yet and so long as that position pertains there will clearly be an amount of confusion and even fear in relation to it. It is important that people's fears are calmed and that people are reassured, and this is what the Government are seeking to do."
Mr O'Donoghue said on RTE Radio 1 that he welcomed the no confidence motion because it would give him the opportunity of finding out what Labour and Fine Gael policy on asylum-seekers was.
Mr O'Donoghue said the Government would honour its humanitarian and international obligations in relation to refugees and to anyone seeking asylum who was fleeing persecution.
While the Government would deal sympathetically with illegal immigrants, "as befits their human dignity", when they were deemed to be illegal immigrants they had to be asked to leave the State.
The no confidence motion, tabled by Labour, is co-sponsored by Fine Gael and the Green Party and is expected to be supported by Mr Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party, Mr Caoimhghin O Caolain of Sinn Fein, and Independent TDs Mr Michael Lowry and Mr Tony Gregory.
It is understood the four other Independent deputies formally supporting the Government, Ms Mildred Fox, Mr Jackie Healy-Rae, Mr Harry Blaney and Mr Thomas Gildea, will vote with the Government, enabling it to avoid an embarrassing defeat.
Mr Callely last night issued a "clarifying" statement in which he said that his view has always been that genuine asylum-seekers should be "accommodated and integrated into our society in a caring and compassionate manner". "My record in public life clearly supports this position and demonstrates my support for full and proper services for genuine asylum-seekers," he said.
"I believe that Ireland as a nation should, at a minimum, honour our international and UN obligations and ensure that asylum-seekers have their applications processed in a fair and efficient manner."
Mr Callely said people adjudged not to be genuine asylum-seekers must accept this decision, which would involve being returned to the country they came to before entering Ireland, unless there were humanitarian reasons why they should stay.
"I fully recognise that there are problems with the current processing procedures and I reaffirm my commitment to addressing these problems and ensuring that people are dealt with in a speedy and dignified manner," he said.