The Irish Times last night contacted Mr Padraig Flynn's office and his home in Brussels to seek a response to yesterday's Dail comments by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, about the Fianna Fail letter querying a £50,000 donation. However, Mr Flynn was not available, writes Patrick Smyth, from Brussels.
Earlier yesterday, at the European Commission's daily press briefing, the chief Commission spokeswoman, Ms Martine Reichert, was asked by a German journalist if the Commission had discussed Mr Flynn's predicament.
She responded that Mr Flynn had always made it clear that he would co-operate fully with the Flood tribunal of inquiry.
It was the first time that the issue had been raised at the briefing and it marks a growing interest in the matter in the international press corps, particularly in Germany, where anger against the EU Commission over a variety of issues is most intense.