Senior Fianna Fail figures are today expected to press the Mayo TD, Ms Beverley Cooper-Flynn, to resign from the Fianna Fail parliamentary party, regardless of whether she appeals her libel defeat.
A quick end to the affair is desired by most. "There is an inevitability about all of this. It should not go on for long. That is in nobody's best interests," said one source.
The decision by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, to place a distance between Ms Cooper-Flynn and Fianna Fail has taken some of his deputies by surprise. "The man has become very decisive over the last six weeks, for some reason," one said.
The Government Chief Whip, Mr Seamus Brennan, and the Fianna Fail parliamentary party chairman, Dr Rory O'Hanlon, must meet Ms Cooper-Flynn before 11.30 a.m. tomorrow when the weekly parliamentary party meeting takes place.
The Minister for Sport and Tourism, Dr McDaid, said yesterday he was very sad for Ms Cooper-Flynn.
"I think we have to balance the situation as well. I mean I'm of the opinion Beverley was in this situation before she came into politics. It was a policy of National Irish Bank at the time, and, you know, I was thinking to myself, when I look back at all the things I did, robbing orchards and robbing the candy store, how far do we have to go back?" he asked on RTE News.
