The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, has sought to minimise the actions of Mr Hugh O'Flaherty in the Sheedy case, defending his nomination to a top EU post in a speech that barely addressed the public and political outcry over the decision.
However Mr O'Flaherty himself attempted to lower the political temperature yesterday, volunteering to forfeit his £40,000 annual State pension, approved by special legislation last year, for the duration of his appointment as vice-president of the European Investment Bank.
The Taoiseach last night welcomed the move.
As two more Progressive Democrat senators came out against the nomination of the former Supreme Court judge to the £147,000 a year post, it was learned that while Mr McCreevy took the initiative within Government in promoting Mr O'Flaherty's nomination, this followed significant lobbying by Fianna Fail-connected barristers.
These lawyers maintained that Mr O'Flaherty's resignation from the Supreme Court was too high a price to pay for his intervention in the Sheedy case.
In his first public comment on the affair since he controversially nominated Mr O'Flaherty as a vice-president of the European Investment Bank last Friday, Mr McCreevy rejected Opposition claims of cronyism. He insisted the nomination of the former judge to a top EU post was based on "his outstanding qualifications and wide legal experience".
The opposition within the PDs grew last night in advance of a fraught parliamentary party meeting this morning. Senators Mairin Quill and Jim Gibbons joined Senator Helen Keogh in opposing the move. Meanwhile for a second day all four PD deputies - the Tanaiste, Ms Mary Harney; Ministers of State Mr Bobby Molloy and Ms Liz O'Donnell; and former leader, Mr Desmond O'Malley; either declined to return phone calls or said, through representatives that they were "unavailable".
A spokesman for Ms Harney said she would talk about the nomination for the first time after today's parliamentary party meeting, at which Ms O'Donnell is likely to make clear her annoyance at the fact that she was the only party TD not informed of the nomination until it was announced.
It is believed that Mr O'Flaherty took the initiative in relation to suspending his pension, following calls from two Fianna Fail backbenchers. He is likely to forgo the pension through giving it as a "gift" to the Minister for Finance. In his speech on a Fine Gael private member's motion criticising the nomination, Mr McCreevy said Mr O'Flaherty had paid "a very high price" for a "mistake", and deserved a "second chance". That mistake was that he had not anticipated the construction that could be put on what he did in intervening in the Sheedy case. Mr McCreevy was interrupted by Labour's deputy leader, Mr Brendan Howlin, when the Minister said Mr O'Flaherty had resigned "when he realised that his seeking to remain in office as a judge was threatening to compromise the integrity of the judiciary". Mr Howlin countered saying he had resigned only after the Government threatened to impeach him.
In Dublin last night, the Taoiseach said he believed Mr O'Flaherty's offer to give up his judicial pension would allay much of the public concern over the appointment.
The Dail unanimously agreed to suspend Mr Denis Foley TD from the ail house for 14 sitting days on the recommendation of the Dail Members' Interests Committee. Mr Foley, who admitted that he breached the Ethics in Public Office Act, will be suspended on full pay.
The breach of the Act occurred when he voted on a motion relating to the proposed extension of the terms of reference of the Moriarty Tribunal to cover the Ansbacher deposits without disclosing that he was an Ansbacher account holder.