The Government's decision to appoint former minister Michael Smith to the Standards in Public Office Commission is set to provoke a row with the Opposition today.
Fine Gael and Labour have expressed "serious disquiet" that Mr Smith was chosen without consultation, even though he was a minister up to three years ago, and a TD up to six months ago.
The Cabinet last week decided to appoint Mr Smith to the State's ethics body, and to re-appoint High Court judge Mr Justice Mathew P. Smith as chairman for a further six years.
The former Fianna Fáil TD replaces the former Labour minister for the environment, Liam Kavanagh, who served in cabinet, with one interruption, between 1981 and 1987.
In a bid to head off the row, Minister for Finance Brian Cowen has assured Fine Gael and Labour that they will be able to put forward a candidate when the sole post filled by an ex-politician is next awarded in 2013.
However, the offer has already been rejected by the Labour leader, Eamon Gilmore, who argues that Mr Cowen is in no position to be making any promises about issues to be dealt with in six years time.
Labour has already said it will oppose the appointment of Mr Smith when his name, along with that of Mr Justice Smith, is put to the Oireachtas today.
The Fine Gael front bench is to decide its attitude to the vote at a meeting in Leinster House this morning, and a party spokesman declined to give any guidance about their possible decision.
Unusually, the Department of Finance is to put the two men's names separately to both the Dáil and the Seanad - partly, perhaps, because of fears that Mr Justice Smyth could be drawn into a controversy not of his making.
Fine Gael and Labour have no difficulties with Mr Justice Smyth's reappointment.
Both Fine Gael and Labour insist that they were consulted by Mr Cowen's predecessor, Charlie McCreevy, when the last round of appointments was made in 2001.
Mr Cowen, however, in conversations with both Mr Gilmore and Mr Kenny, said that he had not been aware that consultations had occurred before he brought the names to the Cabinet last week.
Because of his recent Cabinet membership, the Labour Party argues that Mr Smith will be put in a difficult position if the Standards in Public Office Commission ever has to investigate serving members.
Drawing a distinction between Mr Smith and the retiring member of the commission, Mr Kavanagh, Labour last night said that "a much longer period of time" had elapsed before Mr Kavanagh was appointed.
However, Mr Cowen insists that the appointment of "a more recent former member" is appropriate given the development of the ethics legislation since it was first introduced in 1995.
"I do not accept the contention that a former member of a Government party is less qualified than a former member of another party. There is no logic in that position," said Mr Cowen.
In addition, he said it appeared reasonable to him that the sole place on the commission for an ex-politician should go to a former TD from the Government side, given that it has gone to the Opposition previously.
