Political reaction: The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, has expressed "great disappointment" following Waterford Crystal testing positive for a banned substance.
In a statement, the Minister said he had "noted that Mr Cian O'Connor has exercised his right of due process" before the FEI, the International Federation of Equestrian Sports.
"It is the interests of all parties that this matter be processed as quickly as possible so that finality is brought to the situation," he said.
The disclosure of the negative drugs sample is a significant blow for the Government, which had hopes of boosting the profile of equestrian sports over the next few years.
The Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism learned of Mr O'Connor's difficulties from an FEI statement yesterday morning.
Although clearly not hopeful, one Government source pointed out that Mr O'Connor would have the opportunity to present his case to the FEI.
Under the association's rules, an oral hearing has to take place within 10 days of a second sample being found by its laboratories to be positive.
The Fine Gael TD, Mr Jimmy Deenihan, said he felt "very similarly" to Mr O'Donoghue. "It is very unfortunate and disappointing," he said.
However, he hoped that tests on the second sample taken from Waterford Crystal after his victorious performance in the 2004 Athens Olympics might prove negative.
Although there are questions about the standard of drugs testing in some sports, Mr Deenihan said: "At this level they do have it fairly right.
"We would all hope for the sake of Cian and the reputation of Irish sport that something might be found to confirm that there weren't illegal substances," said the Kerry North TD.