There were heated exchanges when the Opposition parties asked how copies of the Minister for Finance's Budget speech would be distributed today.

The Fine Gael leader, Mr Michael Noonan, complained that his party had been informed that, even though the Budget statement would be issued outside the House to the media, it would not be given to his party's economic advisers.

"We will have a situation where a finance spokesman must reply to a Budget statement sight unseen at a stage when the statement will be circulating throughout the country."

After first telling deputies that the normal arrangements would apply, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said his office had informed him that there appeared to be some changes.

Mr Alan Shatter (FG, Dublin South) asked if the detail of the Budget would be known to the media before members. This, he said, would be a serious breach of procedure.

Mr Ahern said he had only a brief note from his office indicating a change to facilitate members of the House and the broadcasting media.

Pressed further, Mr Ahern said that, in recognition of the time constraints facing the media, the Minister for Finance had decided to allow the release of his Budget speech as soon as he began speaking in the Dβil.

A spokesman for the Oireachtas press gallery said that this practice has operated in recent years.

After some further exchanges, Mr Ahern said he was not certain if the change in the arrangements was of any substance, but he would ask the office of the Minister for Finance to confirm what the position was.

The Opposition challenged a division on a technical motion relating to the Amsterdam Treaty protocol, but the Government won the vote by 65 votes to 53.