A Dáil question put down by Fine Gael TD George Lee enquiring about the potential cost savings from reducing maternity leave in the public sector was withdrawn last week just before it was due to be published in the daily list of parliamentary questions.

The question had been lodged with the Department of Finance, which forwarded it to all government departments for individual responses.

It asked the relevant minister "the amount it costs to fund paid maternity and adoptive leave in the public sector; the amount it would save if the duration for paid maternity leave in the public sector was restricted to 16 weeks; the amount it would save if adoptive leave was restricted to 14 weeks; and if he/she will make a statement on the matter".

However, the question was withdrawn at some point last week and was not included in the list of Dáil questions. Lee could not be contacted for a comment but a spokesman for Fine Gael said it was simply a case of a question being put down on the back of query from a constituent.

"George subsequently got the information from another source and hence withdrew the question," the spokesman said. He dismissed any suggestion that the question was in any linked way to Fine Gael policy formulation.

"This is absolutely about a constituent's enquiry that George was pursuing," the spokesman said.

However, the submission of the question raised eyebrows in government circles, with sources recalling Lee's role in the huge furore caused by Charlie McCreevy's individualisation budget 10 years ago. Lee criticised McCreevy's decision to introduce the measure, which removed the double tax-free allowance for couples where one spouse worked in the home. The controversy culminated in McCreevy introducing a new allowance for such couples.