The Sheedy affair would never be banished from the national psyche until an honest, open attempt was made to have questions answered, Mr Pat Rabbitte (Labour, Dublin South West) said.

He said he was not predisposed towards believing that the inquiry would reveal premeditated malign motivation on the part of the actors involved. "In fact, I believe it will demonstrate nothing of the kind, but that is not an argument for the Opposition parties to collude with the manifest desire of the Government parties to sweep the Sheedy affair under the carpet.

"Public confidence in the administration of justice, and in judicial credibility, is, to my mind, the most significant casualty of the Sheedy affair. Is the Coalition Government asking this House to simply ignore this issue and move on?"

He was speaking during the resumed debate on a Fine Gael private member's motion calling for a judicial inquiry into the early release of Philip Sheedy. The Government rejected the demand.

Mr Rabbitte criticised "the bizarre conduct and inappropriate buffoonery of the Minister for Justice in his reply to the Fine Gael motion".

The Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Dr Jim McDaid, said the Fine Gael motion was "blatantly opportunistic", adding that some of the party's TDs showed, through their absence in the chamber, that they did "not relish the idea behind the incessant and relentless hounding of individuals whose careers and expectations have been demolished as a result of these tragic and unfortunate events".

Dr McDaid said Fine Gael and Labour believed their parties benefited politically from the extensive publicity generated by the issue throughout the year. "They want to keep it going, and they do not care who gets hurt in the process. That, and not any genuine concern for the legal system, is what this is all about. The opposition leadership are under the impression that they will gain political rewards by treating the public to yet another spin on this long-playing record. But the record is beginning to sound scratchy and overplayed."

Dr McDaid said the political agenda which prompted the debate was transparent and the people would see through it. "The Irish people can distinguish the enormous difference between a crime and a mistake. At the heart of this whole issue lies a mistake. The mistaken gesture of a compassionate and decent man. As a consequence, he resigned his prestigious position and has returned to private life.

"The deputies opposite should drop the hypocrisy and the pretence that you want an inquiry under a foreign judge to enlighten you further about this unhappy episode. That is so much pious hokum. You want to create an expensive forum which will command more airtime and more newsprint as old coals are raked yet over and over again."

Mr David Stanton (FG, Cork East) said he was surprised at Dr McDaid's "viciousness", adding that it was the Minister for Finance who had initiated the Hugh O'Flaherty affair. Eventually, he added, the Government was dragged kicking and screaming into admitting that Mr O'Flaherty's nomination to the European Investment Bank was a mistake.

The Fine Gael spokesman on justice, Mr Alan Shatter, said fundamental questions needed to be answered relating to the Sheedy affair. He noted that no member of the Progressive Democrats had contributed to the debate.

The Fine Gael motion was defeated by 75 votes to 67.

Reports by Michael O'Regan and Marie O'Halloram.