The Government will not publish the report into illegal care charges until tomorrow, it emerged this afternoon.
A Department of Health spokesman told ireland.comthe publication of the much-awaited report was "on the advice of the Attorney General".
He said the report, which was given to Cabinet this morning, will be received by the Oireachtas Committee on Health today. It will be presented to the Dáil tomorrow morning.
The report by former Forfás head John Travers will outline how the illegal charging of State nursing home residents was handled by senior civil servants and members of the Department of Health.
The report is likely to say that the illegal practice became embedded over time, even though questions were raised about it on several occasions in the last 30 years.
Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney commissioned the report in December and said there was "systematic maladministration" in her Department.
Ms Harney's predecessor, Micheál Martin, may come under particular pressure today because he is known to have left a December 2003 meeting at which the legal difficulties surrounding the charges was discussed.
It is estimated that cost of repaying the charges could be as much as €2 billion. The Government is losing €2.5 million per week because it still cannot legally charge for nursing home care.