Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has said he will review the invitation to appear before the Dail's Public Accounts Committee (Pac).

Mr Noonan has been invited to give evidence before the committee about the National Asset Management Agency’s sale of Project Eagle.

In a statement Mr Noonan said he would consider the invitation and make a decision in due course.

Fianna Fail and Sinn Féin has called on the Minister to appear before the Pac to detail his knowledge on the sale of the Northern Ireland portfolio.

Pac chairman and Fianna Fáil TD Seán Fleming said it was a "good idea" that Mr Noonan would review the invitation and was "hopeful" he would accept. Speaking to RTE's News at One he acknowledged that Ministers do not normally appear before Pac because they do not want to get drawn into policy issues. He said every Oireachtas member that had information should make themselves available to Pac. He said Mr Noonan was "an important link in the chain".

Yesterday Sinn Féin deputy leader and Public Accounts Committee member Mary Lou McDonald saidMr Noonan should come before the committee to answer questions about the sale.

The Irish Times reported on Saturday that the Department of Finance was unclear about whether Mr Noonan would go before the committee.

Ms McDonald told RTÉ’s The Week in Politics that if Mr Noonan decided not to appear before the PAC his position would become untenable.

Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar said Ministers are held accountable in the Dáil and should not go before the PAC.