Pressure is mounting on the Government to repudiate publicly the recent controversial criticism of the tribunals by the High Court Taxing Master, Mr James Flynn.
The Labour Party yesterday tabled a private member's motion to be debated in the Dail next week calling on the Government to dissociate itself from the Taxing Master's remarks.
The Progressive Democrats' Parliamentary Party also issued a statement after its weekly meeting yesterday, rejecting Mr Flynn's comments, describing them as "very disturbing and highly offensive".
The Labour Party motion calls on the Government, through the Attorney General's Office, to raise the issue of the Taxing Master's remarks with the President of the High Court.
The motion criticises the "unfair, unwarranted and ill-informed attack" by Mr Flynn on tribunals of inquiry established by the Oireachtas.
Last night the Labour Party spokesman on Justice, Mr Brendan Howlin, said almost a week had passed since this extraordinarily ill-informed and intemperate attack on tribunals.
"Yet we have not heard a single word of rebuke or a single sentence spoken in defence of the tribunals by any member of Government."
He said the tribunals were established by motions proposed by the Government and there is now an obligation on the Government to defend them from unjust attack.
The Progressive Democrats' statement said the tribunals had been set up by the collective will of the Oireachtas, and disparaging comments by a public servant merely served to undermine their operation.
"His (Master Flynn's) unhelpful comments were designed to subvert a process that had revealed aspects of corruption in Irish life that would otherwise not have come to light."
Mr Flynn should concentrate on controlling the costs of the tribunals rather than trying to undermine their work.
The Government was last night still refusing to be drawn into the political and legal row following Master Flynn's claim that tribunals were the "Frankensteins" of modern society. He compared their way of investigating allegations to the "star chambers" of old.
When asked if the Government had made contact with Master Flynn about the issue, a spokesman said it had not.