FRANK Fahey, the Fianna Fáil politician last week accus­­ed of assaulting another TD, had a heated confrontation with Sinn Féin deputy Martin Ferris in the foyer of Leinster House after Ferris criticised the Galway West TD in the Dáil.

Fahey, a former cabinet minister, met Ferris inside the revolving doors at the main entrance to Leinster House. The early morning quarrel erupted when Fahey started to berate Sinn Féin's Kerry North TD over comments he made earlier that week in the chamber about the controversial Lost at Sea scheme, which Fahey introduced during his time as minister for the marine.

An Oireachtas source said: "Fahey and Ferris met at the door and they had what you might call a heated exchange of pleasantries. I would call it a minor altercation but it was not a physical assault or anything of that nature."

As the row was erupting, Fine Gael TD Paul Connaughton happened to walk in the door and intervened. After Connaughton made a joke with the pair that they had picked a bad place to have such a heated debated, Ferris and Fahey went their separate ways.

While Ferris declined to comment on the matter, a spokeswoman for Fahey said he met Ferris two days after the Dáil debate on Lost at Sea. Fahey asked Ferris to withdraw what he claimed were "serious and false allegations" Ferris made about him in the Dáil.

There was speculation around Leinster House last week that Ferris was the person Fine Gael TD Tom Sheahan claimed Fahey assaulted, but the confrontation between the pair seems to have been nothing more than a heated verbal exchange.

Using Oireachtas privilege last Wednesday, Sheahan accus­ed Fahey of assaulting an unnamed Oireachtas member. He alleged Fahey threatened TDs and senators who spoke out on an ombudsman's report that was critical of the Lost at Sea scheme, which was championed by Fahey.

Sheahan said: "I can personally state that Mr Fahey not only abused but attacked and threatened members of this house regarding this scheme.

"One of the members was assaulted by Frank Fahey in this house. Members of the media were warned and threatened."

Fahey later rejected Sheahan's allegation and claimed it was "yet another false allegation by Fine Gael over the Lost at Sea scheme".

The Lost at Sea scheme was initiated by Fahey in 2001 and allotted money to the families of those whose fishing vessels were lost at sea.

A subsequent report into the scheme, by ombudsman Emily O'Reilly, found a Donegal family had not received fair treatment when they were excluded from the scheme.