The Taoiseach has insisted the Government had the legislative authority to proceed with the indemnity agreement on abuse cases negotiated with the religious congregations.
The Labour Party leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, repeatedly questioned the Government's authority to go ahead with the deal.
The deal entails a liability for taxpayers estimated by the Comptroller and Auditor General at between €869 million and €1.4 billion, although the Government believes it will be around €500 million.
Mr Rabbitte believed the deal with the congregations was an "entirely separate agreement" from the Residential Institutions Redress Act, which all parties supported. During sharp exchanges in the Dáil with the Taoiseach, he asked, "where does the former Minister for Education think he derived his legal capacity to bind the State into such an agreement?" The then Minister, Dr Michael Woods, had responsibility for the deal, negotiated with representatives of 18 religious congregations, only some of whom were involved in the allegations of abuse of children in residential State institutions.
The Labour leader said the deal "involved the taxpayer underwriting the full liability of the religious congregations arising from court cases, even where complainants never went to the redress board".
The Taoiseach has insisted the Government had the legislative authority. He said "in the Act of 2001, the Government stated that we would bring forward a redress scheme, which we did".
But Mr Rabbitte repeated his question about where the Minister and Government derived the legal authority to proceed.
Mr Ahern said the Government's decision noted that an agreement had been reached with representatives of religious orders on the contributions to be made by them to the compensation fund. "It could not have been clearer," he said.
The Taoiseach added that he discussed this with the then Attorney General, the current Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, and "everybody who was involved and quite frankly, nobody can see the point Deputy Rabbitte is trying to make".
Mr Rabbitte said the Minister for Justice could see the point he was making.
"No, he cannot," said the Taoiseach, adding that Mr McDowell "never stated that the deal was other than a fair and reasonable one".
