The Tánaiste, Ms Harney, has sought and received assurances from the Taoiseach that there is "no truth whatever" in a Sunday newspaper report alleging a serving Cabinet member had received £80,000 in corrupt payments between 1989 and 1992.
She said she had also been given similar assurances "from others in government".
Asked if she was satisfied with the assurances, she said: "I am not a detective; I am not presiding over a tribunal of inquiry. I am in Coalition Government with another party. If matters of this kind come to my attention, then clearly I seek assurances, I make inquiries of the leader of that other party and I have done that on this occasion," Ms Harney said.
Mr Ahern refused to comment to journalists last night on the nature of the assurances he offered Ms Harney.
Last night, former taoiseach Mr Albert Reynolds said he told the Taoiseach in 1994 of persistent corruption rumours about Mr Ray Burke which led him to keep the disgraced former minister out of his Cabinet.
Adding to the pressure on Mr Ahern to talk in detail about the circumstances surrounding his appointment of Mr Burke to Cabinet in 1997, Mr Reynolds said he had been "rather surprised" when Mr Ahern chose to make Mr Burke a Minister.
Speaking on RTÉ, Mr Reynolds said he had told Mr Ahern "everything I knew and had become aware of from Michael Smith". Mr Smith, as minister for the environment, had examined allegations of planning corruption in north Co Dublin.
Mr Reynolds said he had also told Ms Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, a former minister for justice, to tell Mr Ahern all she knew about allegations concerning Mr Burke.
Mr Reynolds said his consignment of Mr Burke to the back benches was due to "continuous and persistent rumours of corruption in the planning process" with which Mr Burke was said to have been involved.
He said he was not absolutely certain of the detail of what he had told Mr Ahern.
The Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, last night demanded an immediate explanation from Mr Ahern as to why he had ignored what Mr Reynolds had told him.
There was still no confirmation yesterday of a reported meeting in Dublin on Tuesday of Fianna Fáil figures seeking to have Mr Brian Cowen replace Mr Ahern as party leader and Taoiseach. A significant number of deputies and party officials contacted by The Irish Times yesterday said they did not know of such a meeting.
Meanwhile Government and Opposition are continuing to argue over how the Dáil should consider the Flood tribunal report next week. The Government is insisting that deputies be confined to making a series of statements on the matter.
However, Fine Gael and Labour want a strong motion on the report to be put before the House. Labour wants the Taoiseach to answer questions on why he appointed Mr Burke to Cabinet in 1997.