Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that he will take "full responsibility" over what happened to Fianna Fáil's presidential campaign when his parliamentary party meets.
Speaking on RTÉ's Nine News, Mr Martin said that it was "absolutely essential" for his party's TDs, senators and MEPs to discuss the matter.
Maintaining that he always "acted in good faith", Mr Martin added that it has been a "difficult week" for Fianna Fáil elected members and the wider membership and they need to map "a way forward".
Earlier, the party's Director of Elections Jack Chambers said that the claim of an issue with a former tenant was raised with Mr Gavin in early September/
He said he would urge Mr Gavin to repay any funds still owed to his former tenant and that he had not spoken to him since Sunday.
Mr Chambers repeatedly said Mr Gavin had told the party that he did not have an issue with a tenant when "that's obviously not the case".
"Facts changed for him," Mr Chambers said.
Asked if the issue was first raised with Fianna Fail on 8 September, the day before Mr Gavin was chosen as the party's presidential candidate, he said "the query was raised".
"Jim Gavin was asked about that and he said he had no issue with a tenant, and that was consistent with his position."
He said he last spoke to him on Sunday and that he would urge Mr Gavin to pay the tenant back.
Mr Chambers said: "I obviously regret what's after happening and disappointed that's what emerged over the weekend.
"Everyone is disappointed, we wanted to run a strong national campaign and obviously what emerged has undermined that."
Jim Gavin's name will remain on presidential ballot paper
Mr Gavin will be on the presidential election ballot paper when voting takes place on Friday 24 October and any votes cast for him will be treated in the same way as for the other two candidates, despite his withdrawal from the race.
On Sunday night, Mr Gavin announced he was withdrawing from the election "with immediate effect", after recent days had given him "cause to reflect".
It followed a report by the Irish Independent at the weekend that Mr Gavin owed a former tenant €3,300.
In a statement, Mr Gavin said he "made a mistake that was not in keeping with my character and the standards I set myself" and that he was "now taking steps to address the matter".
Talks with Attorney General
The Department of Housing and Local Government, which oversees electoral laws in Ireland, made the formal decision this morning after consultation with Attorney General Rossa Fanning throughout yesterday.
While the decision had been expected, it is understood that the department's Presidential Returning Officer Barry Ryan met the AG yesterday afternoon to discuss whether Mr Gavin will remain on the ballot paper or not.
Under existing electoral rules, although Mr Gavin has withdrawn from the campaign, his name cannot formally be removed from the ballot as he did so after the nomination process closed on Wednesday 24 September.
The discussions are understood to have involved a number of potential arguments surrounding this process, including whether the rarely used Section 164 of the 1992 Electoral Act could be used to remove Mr Gavin's name from ballots.
This section states that an "adaptation or modification where there is emergency or special difficulty" can take place in relation to a ballot in extremely rare circumstances.
Explainer: Gavin out of race but still on ballot paper
However, sources have noted that if such a rare step is taken it would potentially cause separate problems in relation to the first postal ballots which have already been sent out to students studying away from home, people unavoidably working abroad on voting day, and some people with disabilities.
In all, around 15,000 postal ballots are due to be distributed for the presidential campaign, with the concern being that if Mr Gavin was removed from the ballot then already sent postal ballots will have to be cancelled, returned and replaced as recipients would have a different name on the ballot to other voters - risking potential, if unlikely, legal cases.
As a result of these legal discussions, last night the Department of Housing confirmed in a statement that Mr Gavin must officially remain on the ballot.
This means that despite his withdrawal from campaigning, the former Dublin GAA manager will still be officially listed as a candidate that individuals can vote for if they so wish.
A vote for Mr Gavin on 24 October will not be counted as a spoilt vote, but will instead be counted as a vote for him, with any subsequent transfers of votes to other candidates also counted in the usual way.
If in the event Mr Gavin were to win the election despite having withdrawn from the race, he would be entitled to become president.
If he were to turn down that situation, the presidency would not go to the runner up candidate, but instead a new presidential election would be called.
Fianna Fáil said this morning that it first raised the issue of a possible dispute with a tenant on 8 September following a query from the Irish Independent.
But the party insisted that it was categorically assured by Mr Gavin on a number of occasions that there was no dispute with any tenant.
The party said this only changed on Saturday when Mr Gavin did begin to recall some details after the tenant had contacted Fianna Fáil with specifics.
Watch: 'Very comprehensive due diligence' done on Gavin - Martin
Additional reporting PA
