The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, is coming under increasing pressure from within Fianna Fail to rescind the nomination of Mr Hugh O'Flaherty to the European Investment Bank.
The Opposition parties will today attempt to have a motion agreed asking that Mr O'Flaherty appear before the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality and Women's Affairs to answer questions on his involvement in the Sheedy affair.
The Government will face further pressure when a debate on a Fine Gael motion condemning the Government's behaviour over Mr O'Flaherty and inflation opens in the Dail tonight.
A senior Government source said last night that despite the rising tide of backbench criticism on the O'Flaherty controversy, the nomination would proceed. "The facts of the matter are that a reversal at this stage would make matters worse."
While Fianna Fail sources agreed that the perfect outcome for the Government at this stage would be if Mr O'Flaherty was to decline the nomination voluntarily, there was no indication of that happening.
Fianna Fail, which holds 10 of the 19 seats on the Justice Committee, will impose the whip on a vote on the Labour motion that Mr O'Flaherty should appear before it.
ail TD, Mr Sean Ardagh, who last week said he regretted the O'Flaherty nomination but would stick by the Government decision. Fine Gael has six seats on the committee and Labour three. The Fianna Fail members will meet privately in advance of today's meeting to discuss how they will vote.
Sources close to Mr McCreevy said last night that the Minister for Finance would not be backing down on the nomination. But several backbenchers and one Minister of State have said that it would be better to reverse the decision now before more damage is done to the Government and to the Fianna Fail party.
At the weekly Cabinet meeting today, Ministers will discuss the rising tide of backbench criticism of the appointment. The Cabinet will also discuss Fianna Fail's abysmal performance in the Tipperary South by-election.
Several backbenchers are of the view that Mr McCreevy should "bite the bullet" and withdraw the nomination. "When you are in a hole you don't keep digging," one backbencher told The Irish Times.
It is understood that unease is also growing among some of Mr McCreevy's Cabinet colleagues at his refusal to back down on the O'Flaherty nomination. Several of them are furious at his performance when he answered questions in the Dail last week.
The O'Flaherty nomination will also be discussed tomorrow at the weekly Fianna Fail parliamentary meeting. Up to 20 backbench TDs are understood to be anxious to express their anger at the decision and to appeal to the Government not to go ahead. Several backbenchers, including Mr Dick Roche of Wicklow, Mr Johnny Brady of Meath, Mr John McGuinness of Carlow-Kilkenny and Mr Billy Kelleher of Cork North Central, yesterday publicly aired their reservations.
Mr Roche said: "Charlie McCreevy has always been a very pragmatic person over the years in politics. He has always been very sure-footed and he has seen the light, but in recent times he unfortunately for whatever reason seems to have clouded all his practical judgment." The Fianna Fail TD for Wexford, Mr John Browne, last night joined the growing number of backbenchers who want the decision rescinded.