Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has said he has a great deal of sympathy for Minister of State John Perry, after details emerged of his financial difficulties.
Yesterday Mr Perry and his wife Marie consented to judgment for €2.47m being entered against them at the Commercial Court over unpaid loans.
The Perrys told Mr Justice Peter Kelly that they contradict several claims in affidavits of Danske Bank.
However, they accepted they had no bona fide defence to judgment and were consenting to judgment in the amount of €2,474,346.
The Tánaiste said he has a high regard for Mr Perry, who he thinks is doing a good job as minister.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil Finance Spokesperson Michael McGrath has said that Mr Perry needs to clarify whether he sought to use leverage through his role as minister in his dealings with Danske Bank.
He said it was an outstanding issue that needs to be addressed.
Mr McGrath said that according to the bank, Mr Perry cited last April that he was seeking to refinance his arrangements through AIB and also that he knew the head of Bank of Ireland, Richie Boucher, personally.
Mr McGrath said at the same time he was engaging directly with the heads of Bank of Ireland and AIB in his capacity as Minister of State for Small Business.
Mr McGrath said he would like to know if there has been any breach of the ministerial code.
He also questioned whether any clarification was sought by Mr Perry as to whether or not he should have been dealing with banking issues with the heads of AIB and Bank of Ireland at a time when he was also seeking to involve those banks in the resolution of his personal financial difficulties.
Speaking ahead of today's Cabinet meeting, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney said he hopes that Mr Perry will be able to stay in his post.
Minister Coveney said his Cabinet colleague had a very good understanding of small businesses and the difficulties they have faced in recent years.
Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Pat Rabbitte also expressed sympathy for the Sligo-North Leitrim TD.
Mr Rabbitte declined to comment on whether the case could have any implications for Mr Perry remaining in his ministerial role as he said the issue was still before the courts.
He said the predicament that Mr Perry found himself in was not dissimilar to the one faced by many small and medium-sized businessmen and women around the country.
