Labour Party leadership contender, Mr Pat Rabbitte, said the Fianna Fáil party¿s approach to money and ethics resulted in the controversy surrounding corrupt payments to Mr Ray Burke.
Attempts by the Taoiseach to suggest that Mr Burke was a one-off and that Fianna Fáil dealt with the problem when the former minister resigned from the Dáil are disingenuous and wide of the mark, Mr Rabbitte said.
"There is much evidence to suspect that the sort of approach to money and ethics, that created Ray Burke, revealed in such stark detail in the Report of the Flood tribunal, went wider in the Fianna Fáil organisation," he said.
"Otherwise how could Mr Burke promise to deliver for some of his donors?"
Mr Rabbitte cited the number of people who had been named in the Flood report for hindering, or obstructing the tribunal, and who also featured as regular `guests' in the Fianna Fáil hospitality tent at the Galway races.
"The list," Mr Rabbitte said, "also includes people who were visibly and actively involved in the recent Fianna Fáil general election campaign and it is probably reasonable to assume that some of those who contributed so generously to Mr Burke have continued and continue to provide financial support for the Fianna Fáil party.
"If the Taoiseach is genuine about wanting to ensure high standards in political life, I would challenge the party to state how many of the people listed in the report as having `obstructed and hindered' or `failed to co-operate' with the Tribunal were or are members of the Fianna Fáil party."
He also challenged the Taoiseach to say how many, if any, of the people on the list have made financial contributions to Fianna Fáil since the Flood Tribunal was established."