Calls heave been renewed this afternoon for the Ceann Comhairle to withdraw his claims that the opposition are trying to undermine him.

Today Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin said that is not their intent, and the Sean Barrett should retract his statement.

It follows criticism of Sean Barrett's decision to cancel a Dáil debate this week, on the Terms of Reference of the Commission of Inquiry into Garda malpractice.

Fianna Fáil says it believes the Ceann Comhairle was lobbied by the legal firm of the former Justice Minister Alan Shatter for the debate to be abandoned.

Fianna Fáil's Justice Spokesperson, Niall Collins, says they will follow up on this issue with the Ceann Comhairle:

Fianna Fáil's Dara Calleary TD says unless Mr Barrett's comments are withdrawn, Fianna Fáil will have no confidence in him.

"At this particular moment I do but for him to retain that confidence he will have to withdraw that charge," he said.

"Fianna Fáil take our role in the Dáil very seriously. We respect the rules of the Dáil, we respect the office of the Ceann Comhairle and for him to say that - because we are trying to defend the ability of the Dáil to have a debate - we take that very seriously," he added.

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.

Gerry Adams says ultimately, responsibility lies with the Taoiseach - and Sinn Féin has not yet decided whether to bring a vote of no confidence in Mr Barrett.

Originally posted at 11.26am