The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, may have won breathing space until the Dail summer recess with the parking of a second unresolved conflict involving a Fianna Fail TD and a prominent businessman.
Mr Ahern last night dismissed attempts to link him through his close political associate, Mr Des Richardson, to an alleged offer to Mr Liam Lawlor of a £100,000 fee to act as a consultant on the proposed £375 million Phoenix Park casino development. He said that people should concentrate on "more important matters".
The issue, along with the difference of opinion between the Fianna Fail TD, Mr G.V. Wright, and the Cork property developer, Mr Owen O'Callaghan, over whether political donations were solicited, are now likely to be left to the Flood tribunal to resolve in the autumn.
Mr Richardson, a former Fianna Fail fund-raiser, emphatically rejected any suggestion that he had offered Mr Lawlor £100,000 to act as a consultant on the casino project.
In a statement, Mr Richardson said he was asked by a director of the Sonas Centre to approach Mr Lawlor to meet him to discuss the possibility of the TD taking an advisory role on the project, dealing specifically with advice on community issues.
It is understood the Sonas director referred to but not named in Mr Richardson's statement yesterday is Mr Robert White, a school friend of Mr Ahern. Another close political associate of Mr Ahern, the former government press secretary, Mr P.J. Mara, acted as public relations consultant for project.
Mr Lawlor made no comment on Mr Richardson's statement yesterday. He told the Fianna Fail inquiry into payments to its politicians that an individual asked him to act as a consultant for the Phoenix Park project for a sum of £100,000.
The Fianna Fail-led government headed by Mr Albert Reynolds actively considered introducing a casino licence and various casino proposals in 1994. Mr Ahern was minister for finance in that government.
Mr Reynolds set up a cabinet sub-committee to look into the issues but no proposals ever came to government.
On the night the Sonas plan was given the go-ahead by An Bord Pleanala in May 1996, Mr Brian Cowen, then a backbench Fianna Fail TD, attended a celebration party at the Conrad Hotel hosted by Mr Robert White.
When it was put to Mr White that Sonas still needed to obtain a casino licence and the rainbow government had shown no willingness to grant one he said: "But what about the next government?"
A spokesman for the Taoiseach said last night Mr Ahern "had always opposed any proposal which included a casino or one-armed bandits".
In his statement yesterday, Mr Richardson said he met Mr Lawlor in 1994 in the Berkeley Court Hotel and advised him that a director of Sonas was interested in him working as a consultant. "While Mr Lawlor stated that he had no interest in becoming involved in the project due to his opposition to casinos generally, he did agree to meet with the director.
"At no time during our conversation, or at any time in my longstanding friendship and relationship with Liam Lawlor did I offer him money on behalf of myself or anybody else for this or any other project."
Mr Richardson recently left a £70,000-a-year job as Fianna Fail fund-raiser and now works with the Marlborough Group.
Meanwhile, the Fine Gael Dublin West TD, Mr Austin Currie, last night accused the Taoiseach of misleading people by circulating the leaflet in April 1997 giving an account of what he said in the Dail on the casino issue. There is no record in the Dail of the speech, he said.
The leaflet quoted Mr Ahern as saying in the Dail: "Let me make one thing very plain. We will not have the conference centre connected with the casino, good, bad or indifferent. There will be no casino as proposed for the Phoenix Park racecourse site".
A spokesman for Mr Ahern said last night the speech referred to in the leaflet was reported in the media. He said it was due to have been made in the Dail but may not have been delivered due to pressure of time.