The Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, has said its 'very clear' that 'some form of investigation' will 'probably' be needed to examine the recent Mahon Tribunal leak relating to the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern.
He told RTÉ News that he was the minister with responsibility for the tribunals and felt 'absolutely dismayed' that a leak had happened.
Mr Roche said he would reflect on the matter, but added 'there may have to be some form of investigation or the gardaí may have to go in and check out what has happened here'.
Describing the leak as 'dramatic' and 'intolerable', he added such leaks were simply not acceptable and damaging to the work of the tribunal.
However the deputy leader of the Labour Party, Liz McManus, described Mr Roche's comments as a 'totally inappropriate response'.
She said the matter was now in the public domain and it was up to the Taoiseach to make a statement and explain 'how much money was received, who gave him the money and what it was for'.
While condemning the leaking of confidential material, Ms McManus added damage had been done to Irish politics and there was no point now in the Taoiseach running away from it.
Ahern attempts to diffuse situation
In a statement he read out this morning, Mr Ahern said the current media interest and the opportunistic response were precisely what this leak was designed to produce.
The Taoiseach used the launch of a report on migration in Government Buildings to deliver a statement on the controversy about his finances.
Mr Ahern insisted that he had provided the tribunal with full information about his financial affairs over many years, that his family and friends had also co-operated, and that it was up to the tribunal to decide whether it wanted to pursue any matters arising.
He said tribunals had great powers, but it was important that information given in confidence should remain confidential unless and until the tribunal decided a public hearing was necessary.
The Taoiseach added that if the tribunal wanted further information, he would of course co-operate.
Opposition calls for fuller Ahern statement
Mr Ahern clearly intended this as his last word on the subject, but given that he did not address the questions raised by the media and the Opposition - how much money did he get, from whom, and for what purpose - it seems unlikely that it will be.
Opposition parties have called on him to make a fuller statement on his finances.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio One's News At One, Fine Gael spokesman Fergus O'Dowd said that it was in the Taoiseach's own interest to be open and transparent.
The Minister for Health, Mary Harney, declined to comment on the revelations about the Taoiseach's receipt of donations.
At a conference in west Dublin, she told reporters that her party leader, Michael McDowell, had already dealt with the issue.
