Fianna Fail is seeking a transcript of a radio interview on Midlands Radio 3 yesterday in which the Fine Gael TD, Mr Charles Flanagan, said that he had information from sources close to the Flood tribunal.
The remark was made by Mr Flanagan in the course of an exchange with his Laois-Offaly constituency colleague, Mr Sean Fleming of Fianna Fail.
Mr Flanagan said he had information from "sources close to the tribunal" that no members of Fine Gael were involved in the allegations. He was immediately challenged by Mr Fleming to state whether this was another leak from the tribunal.
Mr Flanagan told The Irish Times last night that he had used the words "sources close to the tribunal" which, he accepted, was "injudicious phraseology". He added: "I was not talking to anyone directly involved in the tribunal at any stage."
A spokesman for Midlands Radio 3 said it would release the contents of the tape only if requested to do so by the tribunal. The spokesman confirmed that Mr Flanagan had quoted sources close to the tribunal as saying there were no affidavits or other suggestions to implicate Fine Gael members in the tribunal's activities.