Junior Minister Mr John Browne last night called for a review of the decision not to invite athletes from SARS-affected countries to attend the Special Olympic World Games in Ireland next month.
Mr Browne, who is Minister of State for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, said he hoped the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, would "relook" at his decision to see if "a formula could be found to allow them come".
His comments will increase pressure on Mr Martin to row back on the decision announced last Thursday not to invite to the games teams from five countries affected by SARS.
The countries involved are China, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Taiwan.
Mr Browne said he was not criticising Mr Martin, pointing out that he had just adopted a recommendation from a group of experts.
However, he said as the father of an 18-year-old who was physically challenged, he understood how much competing meant to the athletes concerned.
"It's their World Cup really," he said.
Mr Martin's decision has been criticised by towns which were due to host athletes from those countries, organisations representing the disabled, Opposition parties, and the games' National Organising Committee.
The committee, along with Special Olympics International, is to make a submission to the SARS expert group later this week calling for the decision to be overturned.
The expert group meets again tomorrow.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that Hong Kong was willing to halve its delegation in an attempt to be allowed travel to the games.
The Hong Kong Special Olympics committee, in a statement, said it was dismayed by the decision of the Irish Government.
It said the precautionary measures it had proposed included:
halving the number on the Hong Kong delegation from 62 to 31;
arranging a 10-day "health assurance camp" for Hong Kong delegation members prior to their departure from Hong Kong.
During it, all members would have had chest X-rays, had their temperatures taken three times a day and a medical check-up prior to departure from the camp;
it had also cancelled the pre-game visit to Clonmel to shorten the duration of stay.
"We cannot understand the worries of the Irish Government despite the efforts we have made.
"The exclusion of our athletes from the games is not fair to them," the statement added.
Mr Martin is likely to be confronted about the decision when he meets other health ministers from around the world at a WHO-organised World Health Assembly in Geneva today.
The assembly will also be attended by the chairman of the SARS expert group, Dr Jim Kiely.
The SARS outbreak and a proposed global anti-smoking treaty will be the main items on the agenda for the annual assembly.