A 12-year old Government investigation into Mr Larry Goodman's involvement in Master Meats will be revisited. A spokesman for the Tánaiste said last night that she had asked the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to review the 1988 takeover of the beef processor in the wake of fresh evidence

The settlement of various court cases arising from the 1988 sale has cleared the way for the move.

A spokesman for the Tánaiste said the transaction would be reviewed in the light of the evidence about the ownership of various companies given during the court cases. The Department will seek legal advice about what action should now be taken.

The key piece of evidence to emerge - from the Department's point of view - was the admission by Mr Goodman that he owned a Liechtenstein-registered company that secretly bought a stake in Master Meats in 1987 and then bought it outright in 1989. Mr Goodman's lawyers made it clear, however, that he was only admitting ownership of the company and indirectly Master Meats for the purpose of the court cases.

A number of issues will be studied by the Department. The most significant will be whether or not the original 1987 investment by Mr Goodman should have been notified under monopolies legislation. At the time, Mr Goodman owned the largest beef processor in the State, while Master Meats was the third largest.

Department sources said last night that failure to notify a transaction when required could render a deal null and void, which could have serious repercussions.

The takeover of the group in 1989 was notified to the Department of Industry and Commerce as it was then known. At that stage, the Department was told that Master Meats had been bought by a consortium of investors represented by the accountant Mr Laurence Crowley, the current governor of the Bank of Ireland.

Mr Crowley named three international businessman as the owners of the group, all three of whom were business associates of Mr Goodman. The Department then sought further information and subsequently referred the matter to the Fair Trade Commission. The commission was unable to penetrate the complex web of Liechtenstein companies used to structure the deal but reported in December 1989 that Mr Goodman effectively controlled the group.

At the time, the then minister Mr Des O'Malley concluded that Mr Goodman's involvement was "undesirable and contrary to the common good".

One of the two original shareholders in Master Meats, Mr Pascal Phelan, subsequently sued both Mr Goodman and the other original shareholder in Master Meats, Jordanian businessman Mr Zakariah el Taher. It was Mr Taher's 50 per cent stake in the business that Mr Goodman bought in 1987 for $9.75 million, before buying out Mr Phelan in 1989. Mr Phelan alleged the two men had defrauded him.

Mr Phelan settled his action against Mr Taher yesterday, having settled with Mr Goodman last week. The terms of the settlements were not disclosed. Mr Phelan said he would not breach confidentiality agreements he had signed in relation to the settlement.

He said his decision to sell his €6.4 million home in Kilkenny last year was taken because he was moving to Dublin and "I wanted to send out a signal to show there was no problem with my ability to fund this case".

He said at the time that he had settled all outstanding legal bills from the 15-year High Court case. "I was sending out the signal: 'Boys the tank is full'," he said.

Mr Phelan said he was "very pleased" with the outcome of the case. "I feel vindicated with the action I took. I now want to leave this behind me and get back to normality," he said.