The findings of the Stephens inquiry raised "fundamental questions" about the involvement of state agents in murder and other crime, the Minister for Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Mr Cowen called for a public inquiry, and said his concerns about the Finucane case had deepened after reviewing the report. He was particularly disturbed that nationalists known to have been targeted "were not properly warned or protected". He said it was clear efforts to uncover the truth were subject to obstruction and sabotage.
Government sources said while the issues raised were of the "utmost gravity", the report was being viewed in isolation from efforts to reach agreement in the peace process.
Mr Cowen said that since Mr Finucane's murder in February 1989, allegations of collusion have persisted. That such allegations were associated with the murder of a human rights lawyer dedicated to his profession and to the rule of law added to the deep anxiety about this case both in Ireland and internationally.
Mr Cowen said a police investigation could not answer all the questions surrounding the murder, but he was confident that the PSNI chief constable, Mr Hugh Orde, and the Northern Ireland Policing Board would ensure that recommendations in the report were fully implemented.
Meanwhile, the Law Society last night reiterated its call, first made many years ago, for an independent public inquiry into the events surrounding the murder. "The murder of a solicitor simply for doing his duty in defending his clients is an attack on the rule of law and on the rights of every citizen in a democracy."
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties called for an independent judicial inquiry, and said more of the Stephens report should be published. Its director, Ms Aisling Reidy, said the report did not answer all the questions surrounding the case of lawyer Ms Rosemary Nelson.
"Nor, importantly, does it address the extent of state responsibility borne by the British government for collaboration between the RUC, the British army and loyalist paramilitaries."
