Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív yesterday said he knew "no more than anyone else" about the £8,000 paid to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in Manchester in 1994 when Mr Ahern was minister for finance.
Mr Ó Cuív - who described himself to reporters yesterday as "a great man for procedure" - said Mr Ahern would make his explanations to the Dáil on Tuesday.
Stressing that the Dáil was the proper place to make such statements, Mr Ó Cuív went on to say that he was "perfectly happy" as a Minister that that was what the Taoiseach said he was going to do and that was what the Taoiseach was going to do.
"The Taoiseach has made it absolutely clear he's going to go into the Dáil . . . I am happy to leave it at that."
Mr Ó Cuív was speaking in Tralee where he acknowledged "as a given" that the issues facing Mr Ahern were serious.
The Taoiseach was not going to agree to go into the Dáil and answer questions on a trite issue, he remarked.
In relation to any action the Progressive Democrats might take, Mr Ó Cuív said: "What the PD party does is what the PD party does. Our [ Fianna Fáil's] job in Government is to get on with running the country."
Pressed on whether there was a distinction to be made between accepting money on a personal capacity while a minister, Mr Ó Cuív did not answer the question directly but said no one was asking questions about him.
Asked earlier during the interview with reporters about his understanding of the Manchester money paid to Mr Ahern, Mr Ó Cuív said: "I know no more than anyone else knows."