The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has said he is in no doubt that the selective leaking of information surrounding his personal finances is politically motivated and inspired.
In a statement issued this afternoon, Mr Ahern said this information has been published in an effort to discredit him and to damage Fianna Fáil.
He outlined details relating to allegations made against him that are the subject of the Mahon Tribunal and the purchase of a house in Beresford.
He said the two allegations made against him by Tom Gilmartin are false and malicious and after nine years there is no evidence of him receiving money from the Cork developer, Eoin O'Callaghan or of doing any favours for him.
Mr Ahern also said he would not accept the verdict of his political opponents or the masters of the half-truth on how he has behaved.
Mr Ahern also explained that he had rented a house at Beresford in Dublin from the Manchester-based businessman, Michael Wall at market value between 1995 and 1997.
He said Mr Wall contributed £28,700 towards refurbishing the house and £8,442 towards stamp duty.
Mr Ahern purchased the house in 1997 for £180,000.
The Taoiseach said he had been tipped off as far back as last August that these things were being spoken about.
Earlier, Mr Ahern defended the manner in which he purchased his home in Dublin and has denied that any favouritism was shown to him by a Manchester-based businessman during the purchase of the house.
In an interview in this morning's Sunday Independent, Mr Ahern said the money spent on refurbishing his Drumcondra home is all accounted for and he categorically denies lodging any money in the form of US dollars to his bank account.
The Taoiseach also says his unusual financial arrangements at the time he was Minister for Finance were related to his judicial separation from his wife, Miriam.
He said it was a period of great uncertainty for him and involved great personal turmoil.
Mr Ahern also says that funds given to his former partner, Celia Larkin, by Manchester businessman, Michael Wall, for the stamp duty on his home and for refurbishments were given to her for convenience.
Mr Ahern says leaks from his testimony to the Mahon Tribunal have been designed to maximise what he called "harmful political impact".
He said these leaks from the Tribunal's private work were deeply unhelpful but he said he hoped the public would be satisfied with the financial details he has released this morning and they could now focus on the real concerns of the election campaign.
The Tánaiste, Michael McDowell, has said that following the Taoiseach's statement on his finances, there is now no obstacle to the Progressive Democrat's doing business with Fianna Fail.
He said Mr Ahern had put a complete account of the transaction from his perspective into the public domain and that the issue of credibility and standards was now out of the way.
Mr McDowell added that he trusted Mr Ahern, saying he knew he had the best interests of these islands at heart.
Mr McDowell also said he believes the PD's will gain seats in the election and he's not reconciled to his party being on the opposition benches after polling day.
He said he did not believe the electorate wants a centre-left coalition, that is ideologically divided and inexperienced.
The Fine Gael leader, Enda Kenny, has said his view has not changed on the issue of the Taoiseach's personal finances.
He has strongly denied that his party was associated with leaks from the Mahon tribunal about the Taoiseach's finances.
Mr Kenny said he remained more interested in the country's future than the Taoiseach's past.
The Labour leader, Pat Rabbitte said there was some new information in the Taoiseach's statement but he also said it added to the confusion.
He said the Taoiseach told the Dail there were absolutely no tax issues involved and that he now appeared to be saying that there are indeed tax issues.
He said it would be helpful if the Taoiseach made a complete and definitive statement so that the election could return to the issues.
The leader of the Green Party, Trevor Sergeant, said that it was too early to say whether the Taoiseach's explanation of his financial affairs was satisfactory.
He said the Mahon Tribunal would ultimately determine the details of the issue.
Many previous statements by the Taoiseach, he said, had not added up and it would up to the people to decide whether this explanatian was adequate.
Mr Ahern, he said, was avoiding the main issue which was the dependency of politics on big business and private money.
Meanwhile, Gardaí say that they have not begun a criminal investigation into the alleged leak of documentation from the Mahon Tribunal.
Gardai have however spoken to a businessman who made payments to Bertie Ahern in 1993 as part of what Mr Ahern called a dig-out for him.
It is understood that the businessman met and handed over some papers to the Gardai in Blackrock last week and they are assessing the information to determine if an investigation is warranted.
They are also understood to be seeking further information.
Contrary to reports today The National Bureau of Criminal Investigation is not involved.
