The Taoiseach will give evidence to the Moriarty tribunal this morning on the controversy over donations to his party on the eve of the no-confidence debate in the Dail tomorrow.
The Government is preparing to summon all its resources to vote down the no-confidence motion tabled by the Labour Party.
Fianna Fail deputies did their best to close ranks yesterday and asserted that tensions within the party over the O'Flaherty affair and other controversies had eased after a lengthy parliamentary party meeting. At the end of his address to the meeting the Taoiseach received a standing ovation.
The whole day has been set aside for what will be a rancorous Dail debate.
In his second appearance at the tribunal, Mr Ahern will today detail his knowledge of a 1996 internal Fianna Fail inquiry into a £100,000 payment to Mr Charles Haughey by Mr Mark Kavanagh, the developer of the International Financial Services Centre.
Mr Ahern may also be asked about documentation concerning donors to the party which was not given to the Moriarty tribunal until last week. The party's solicitors gave the tribunal a list of donors in August 1999. However, other documents were not handed over at that stage.
These include a list of donations for which receipts were given to Mr Haughey, rather than the donors, at Mr Haughey's request. They also include supporting documentation identifying anonymous donors.
Fianna Fail sources maintained yesterday that the tribunal has cleared the party of any suggestion it had withheld information. The Minister for Defence, Mr Michael Smith, said the tribunal legal team had had access to all Fianna Fail documents and "anything that was missed was their fault".
Meanwhile, the Government has given over Friday - the last Dail sitting day before October - for the debate prompted by a Labour motion of no confidence. The Government had initially offered a debate from noon to 5 p.m., but conceded Opposition demands for a 10.30 a.m. start.
Government speakers plan to launch a counter-offensive against Fine Gael and Labour in the debate, comparing what they will claim is the poor record of the last coalition with the performance of the present one.
Heralding the counter-attack, the Tanaiste Ms Harney yesterday criticised the Labour leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, for supporting the 1994 tax amnesty - also supported by the Mr Ahern.
Fianna Fail deputies appear to have united around the Taoiseach's view that the Government cannot now reverse the O'Flaherty appointment.
While about six Fianna Fail deputies strongly criticised the O'Flaherty nomination at yesterday's parliamentary party meeting, none is believed to have called for its reversal.
The Minister for Tourism and Sport, Dr McDaid, last night blamed "sections of the media" who were determined to bring down the Government for the O'Flaherty controversy.
The Tanaiste and the Minister for Finance have both listed their controversial use of a businessman's French villa for their holidays last year. The use of Mr Ulick McEvaddy's holiday home is listed in their annual declarations under the Ethics in Public Office Act.
However, while Ms Harney gave the value of the use of the house as between £617 and £686, Mr McCreevy did not put a value on the accommodation "received from a personal friend".