Fianna Fáil will decide on Tuesday whether they will bring a motion of no confidence in the Ceann Comhairle.
It is after Sean Barrett accused the opposition of being 'out to get him' by complaining about his decision to cancel a Dáil debate.
The party says they will only restore its confidence if Deputy Barrett withdraws the comments.
Their Environment Spokesperson is Barry Cowen:
The Justice Minister says Fianna Fáil are aligning themselves with Sinn Féin, by considering a motion of no confidence.
Fianna Fáil says it believes Sean Barrett was lobbied by the legal firm of the former Justice Minister Alan Shatter for the debate to be cancelled.
Mr Barrett said he had no option but to cancel a debate on a Commission of Inquiry on garda malpractice, because it might overlap with a High Court case being taken by former Justice Minister Alan Shatter.
The Commission is looking into the way in which Maurice McCabe's allegations of garda malpractice in the Cavan-Monaghan region were handled by various authorities.
A letter from Mr Shatter's legal firm, seen by the Irish Times, told the Ceann Comhairle that the inquiry being set up to follow the Guerin report could threaten his own legal action against the findings of that report.
But the letter reveals that Mr Shatter wanted to get its terms of reference changed so that it would not be investigating his own response to those allegations.
Instead, he suggested an alternative terms of reference which would not directly look into his own actions at the time.
The letter reportedly stressed that this was because of legal concerns - and could compromise his own legal challenge. In the end, his bid was unsuccessful.
Fianna Fail has called on Mr Barrett to withdraw claims that the opposition is trying to undermine him.
Sinn Féin says it has not yet decided whether to hold a motion of no confidence in Mr Barrett - while Fianna Fáil says it will discuss it at its next parliamentary party meeting.
The Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald told the Sunday Show here on Newstalk that Fianna Fail could pursue alternative ways to get change.
Originally posted at 12.20pm
