The Labour leader claimed there was growing irritation within Government circles at having to be called to account after the publication of newspaper articles.
"My party, for its part, has always supported tribunals, even when it was unfashionable amongst others to do so. We would like to see the tribunals currently under way finish their work. In fact, I will go so far as to say that it would be preferable that a general election should not interfere with their work, particularly any election called for the sole purpose of avoiding the implications of either tribunal's findings."
The Opposition, Mr Ruairi Quinn said, had not been responsible for the stream of stories that had emerged in the last few weeks. "The Government would do well to remember that. Indeed, one analysis is that today's story may well have come from a member of his own party. The Taoiseach would do well to get his own house in order before getting annoyed at others."
Mr Quinn said that the lead story in The Irish Times was just the latest of a series of reports that had appeared over a number of years which raised questions about the involvement of Fianna Fail personnel in the passports-for-sale scheme. The allegations were of the utmost seriousness and raised questions of legitimate public interest.
"The story is written by a reputable journalist in a responsible newspaper. I pass no judgment on the contents of the article, but I do look forward to hearing the Taoiseach deal with the issues raised in the article.
"Before the Taoiseach turns his wrath on the Opposition parties, can I draw his attention to the fact that the story in The Irish Times is based not on any claims made by the Opposition parties, but on claims made by senior sources within his own Government? Geraldine Kennedy repeatedly refers to `Government sources' as the basis of her claims: this can only mean people associated with either Fianna Fail or the Progressive Democrats.
"When matters of political controversy are raised in the press, and when allegations of the seriousness contained in The Irish Times are raised, the Opposition has a duty to raise them in the Dail and insist that they are answered.
He advised the Taoiseach to heed the words of Winston Churchill, who pointed across the House of Commons and said to a colleague: "That is the opposition: the enemy are on the benches behind us." Mr Quinn said: "We have, on the basis of Geraldine Kennedy's article, a Government in which senior figures are leaking against each other. We have a former senior government figure who is to appear before the Flood tribunal hinting that he has more to tell, and that his further evidence could implicate the Taoiseach. We have a Government so diverted by its internal problems that it is unable or unwilling to deal with serious problems like mounting hospital and housing waiting lists."
During the course of the afternoon, he said, he had been made aware that Government sources had put it around that he had made representations on behalf of Mrs Elena Lindzon relating to her application for a passport.
"Having checked with the Department of enterprise, Trade and Employment, I would like to put the following on the record of the House. I confirm that I supported the application for the passport on the basis of a genuine wish to invest in a company in west Cork.
"According to my inquiries, I wrote a letter to the Minister for Justice on July 14th, 1993, in support of the passport application, and I wrote again a year later urging that the passport be granted. I understand that no difficulties have arisen and that all of the accompanying conditions have been honoured. The passport was subsequently granted by former Minister Maire Geoghegan-Quinn."