Dublin West TD Mr Liam Lawlor has ignored the unprecedented call by Dáil Éireann to quit his seat following his failure to co-operate with the Flood tribunal.
During his 20-minute speech to the Dáil, following his temporary release by the High Court, Mr Lawlor strongly rejected charges that he has tried to frustrate the tribunal. "I have not done this intentionally. Do I want to be standing here, or serving a third term? The answer to that is that I do not want to be standing here." However, he failed to deal with the substance of a Dáil motion that "deplored" his conduct, found his continued membership to be "untenable" and sought his voluntary resignation.
The disgraced TD arrived at Leinster House shortly after 11.30 a.m. and was quickly ushered into the office of the superintendent of the Houses of the Oireachtas, Mr Éamon O'Donohoe.
Mr Justice Finnegan, president of the High Court, ruled that Mr Lawlor's reputation was likely to come under attack and he had the right to defend himself.
The Fine Gael Leader, Mr Noonan, and the Attorney General, Mr McDowell, clashed over whether the Government should have checked if Mr Lawlor's presence was necessary. Insisting the Government had no role, the AG pointed out that Mr Justice Finnegan had not included the Government when he dealt with Mr Lawlor's application.
The TD entered the Dáil chamber alone shortly before the noon debate, quickly exchanging words with Fine Gael TD Mr Michael Ring and Labour TD Mr Sean Ryan. Left isolated, he listened, often with a hand held to his face, as the party leaders, led off by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, roundly condemned his conduct.
The resignation call marks the limit of what TDs can do because under the Constitution a deputy cannot be expelled, unless he/she goes bankrupt or receives a six-month prison sentence.
"That is as far as we can go," said the Tánaiste and Progressive Democrat leader, Ms Harney, who said the tribunals are helping to improve standards in public life.
The Taoiseach said political life has been "cheapened" by Mr Lawlor's jail sentences. "Cynicism about public life is fed by the spectacle that has surrounded these proceedings," he said.
The leader of Fine Gael, Mr Michael Noonan, and the leader of the Labour Party, Mr Ruairí Quinn, adopted different tones during their contributions.
Mr Noonan focused his criticism on the Taoiseach, pointing out that the Government has still to appoint the extra judges required by Mr Justice Flood.
He said the Taoiseach's "public denunciation" is matched by the private accommodation of scandal-hit Fianna Fáil figures.
"The Taoiseach's indifference and ambiguity and his speaking out of the two sides of his mouth continues to drag the honourable profession of politics and all who participate in it in the mire."
However, the Labour leader, confined his attention to Mr Lawlor. Mr Quinn urged him "to venerate the memory" of the State's founding fathers and "acquiesce without protest to our request" to voluntarily quit.
Socialist Party TD, Mr Joe Higgins accused the Taoiseach of "hanging Mr Lawlor out to dry" for conduct common on Dublin County Council in the early 1990s.
"So he should, but what he conveniently did not say is that Deputy Lawlor did not act in a vacuum over the course of the last 20 or 25 years in public life."