Fine Gael will consider a motion of no confidence in the Government only after the full facts of the Gilmartin controversy have been established, the party leader said last night.
In anticipation of a fiery opening session of the Dail this afternoon, Mr Bruton has accused the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, of adopting a policy of "truth by instalments".
It was now plain, Mr Bruton said, that the Taoiseach had been deliberately trying, by evasion and inaction, to minimise the extent of his relationship with the London-based property developer Mr Tom Gilmartin.
His long-delayed statement of Sunday night admitting one meeting was "a try-on" in the hope that Mr Gilmartin would back off.
Once the Taoiseach knew Mr Gilmartin's activities were of interest to the tribunal, something he had known for months, he had an obligation to obtain and order full disclosure to the tribunal of all his dealings with him.
"If he did not do so over the past number of months, he does not understand or accept the duties of his office.
"The Tanaiste and the PDs will have to draw their own conclusions," Mr Bruton said.
The Labour leader, Mr Quinn, said Mr Ahern and the Fianna Fail party had turned a political problem into a political crisis.
They would be seeking to have the normal business of the Dail suspended today so the Taoiseach could give a comprehensive statement.
It would appear, Mr Quinn said, that the trust essential for the efficient working of this Government at a time when we had so many problems was being eroded on a drip by drip basis by the way in which the Taoiseach was treating the Tanaiste.
With the admission that Mr Ahern had at least three meetings with Mr Gilmartin, Mr Quinn said the Taoiseach's credibility on this issue diminished as each stage of this process revealed itself.
The Socialist Party TD, Mr Joe Higgins, said Mr Ahern's faulty memory in regard to the number of meetings with Mr Gilmartin put a very different light on his inability to remember an alleged discussion on a substantial donation of £50,000 to Fianna Fail.
Claiming that Sinn Fein would make significant electoral gains in 1998, Mr Caoimhghin O Caolain said the political process had again been tainted with yet more revelations which raised questions about the two main political parties and corruption in the planning process.
