Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern has insisted the best place for Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to clarify his tribunal evidence is at the tribunal.
Speaking to reporters, the Minister said he spoke to the Taoiseach over the weekend and his strong advice to him was that he should make any statement in the tribunal.
"He’s in the middle of his evidence. In all fairness any fair-minded person would say that he should be given an opportunity to finish his evidence and to be cross examined and to allow him to cross examine people who are giving evidence as well. That’s the place. Not in the media or not in the Dáil," said Mr Ahern.
The Minister said he was fully confident in the Taoiseach and that the spotlight on the Taoiseach’s tribunal evidence did not make him nervous. "There’s no nervousness, and I can assure you, not on my part. It will take an awful lot more to make me nervous," Mr Ahern said.
Last week, acting PD leader Mary Harney and Green leader John Gormley, both Cabinet colleagues to the Taoiseach, called on him to make a statement to clarify the conflicts between his evidence and that given by a former secretary about sterling lodgements to his accounts.
It is now understood that the Taoiseach will not make a full statement to the Dáil tomorrow, but will respond to questions put to him by party leaders.
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said: "It appears that the Taoiseach is going to depend on Opposition leaders raising this matter with him during Leaders' Questions and that he will regard his reply to these questions as constituting 'a statement'," said Mr Gilmore.
"Responding to Leaders' Questions does not constitute a statement and cannot satisfy the call made last week from Ministers Gormley and Harney for the Taoiseach to make a statement clarifying the contradictions.
"If the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats accept this, their credibility will be even further diminished. The very restricted and time-limited format of Leaders' Questions does provide an adequate vehicle for dealing with the many issues raised by recent developments at the tribunal.
"While it has taken tribunal lawyers days of continuous questioning to extract information from Mr. Ahern, Opposition leaders are limited to three minutes and two questions," said Mr Gilmore.