Tánaiste Mary Harney today played down suggestions of any rift with Minister for Justice Michael McDowell over the leadership of the Progressive Democrats by saying there were "no secret deals in the PDs".
Ms Harney and Mr McDowell have said there has been no challenge to her leadership.
Tanaiste Mary Harney has denied any rift over leadership of the PDs
Today's Irish Timesreports that Mr McDowell claims he had an arrangement with Ms Harney that would see her stepping down before the next election.
Ms Harney's supporters say the crisis was sparked by Mr McDowell issuing an ultimatum that he would not run in the next election unless she stepped aside as leader at that stage.
Mr McDowell's allies claim that the Tánaiste threatened to sack Mr McDowell from the Cabinet and remove him as party president if he went ahead and raised the leadership issue.
The issue was diffused at a parliamentary meeting of the PDs on Tuesday night when it was decided it would be damaging for the party to embark on a leadership contest one year out from the a general election.
Today, Mr McDowell said: "There is no leadership struggle in the Progressive Democrats," he said. "No threat was ever made to me, and secondly I also want to say that I never asked Mary Harney to step aside as leader."
Ms Harney said there was full agreement at Tuesday's parliamentary meeting that there would be "no leadership change in preparing for the next election".