Press conference:Minister for Finance and Fianna Fáil deputy leader Brian Cowen has condemned "ongoing partial leaking" which he said was "unfair to the Taoiseach and to the Irish people".
Selective leaks of material from the Mahon tribunal were being used in "a systematic and resolute effort to damage the Taoiseach", Mr Cowen told reporters at party election headquarters in Dublin.
Flanked by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin and Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern, Mr Cowen read out a prepared statement at the start of the news conference.
"What we have seen in recent weeks is a deliberate attempt to damage the Taoiseach through the selective and ongoing leak of information which has been given to the tribunal.
"The objective has not been to answer questions but to raise them, and to do so in the most negative way possible. No reasonable person could believe that those involved in this selective leaking have been seeking to provide a fair or comprehensive picture.
"There has been ongoing, partial leaking of material which was given in good faith in order to establish the complete untruth of allegations dealing with entirely separate matters," the statement said.
Bertie Ahern's consistent position had been that these issues should be deal with in the tribunal itself: "However, the reality is that the impact has been such that the Taoiseach believes he should make a complete response concerning his house in advance of the tribunal hearing. He accepts that the tribunal has asked everyone to keep their information and statements for their hearings, but agreeing to this delay would allow the current situation to continue.
"This would be unfair to the Taoiseach and to the Irish people who are being denied a debate about the future of their country in this election campaign."
The statement added: "In order to prepare the response, the Taoiseach will ask his legal advisers to bring together all relevant information."
Asked when the Taoiseach's statement would be forthcoming, Mr Cowen said Mr Ahern would first have to consult his legal advisors and, "as soon as that careful consideration takes place, he will come forward, as quickly as possible".
Asked if he was disappointed in the Progressive Democrats in light of Mr McDowell's news conference earlier, Mr Cowen said: "I regret the fact that it wasn't possible for the Tánaiste to make direct contact with the Taoiseach on any issue that he may have concerns about and to deal with them in that way.
"But the Tánaiste and the Progressive Democrats have dealt with this matter in their own way and I respect that decision and we will deal with the issues as comprehensively as possible in the circumstances."
He said he did not know the source of the "selective leaking". Describing the Taoiseach as "the most popular political figure" in Ireland, he added: "To take down this Government, you have to try and take down Bertie Ahern, that's clear, and this is an effort to do so".
Noting that media organisations were "asked to desist" by the tribunal from publishing leaked material, he said that was "a matter for the media to decide upon".
Micheál Martin implicitly criticised the Tánaiste and the Progressive Democrats: "Clearly if people require clarification about any issues, at the end of the day it's a phone call away, or you seek a meeting with somebody and try and clarify some of the issues you may have concerns about, and that would be the approach that I would have adopted.
"That said, we are in the middle of a campaign, it's challenging for all concerned, it's clearly challenging for the Progressive Democrats as well, and they have taken a particular stance and I respect that."
Dermot Ahern said he was "angry" over what was "quite clearly an orchestrated campaign to do down a good man".
