The Public Accounts Committee has widened its search for the author of a Revenue Commissioners' circular in 1986 which prevented inspectors from examining declarations made on non-resident accounts.
Mr Seamus O'Connell, a former chief inspector of taxes who cleared the circular, known as SIM (superintending inspector's memorandum) 263, said it was unlikely that the late Mr Tony Brown, a principal inspector of technical services, had written it.
Mr O'Connell had said earlier in the week he believed that Mr Brown had written the document.
Mr O'Connell said he had since learnt that Mr Brown had not come into that section until later. He added that he was absolutely certain no outside influence was brought to bear in relation to its drafting.
The chairman, Mr Jim Mitchell, asked the chairman of Revenue, Mr Dermot Quigley, to initiate investigations on who was in the section at the time. Mr Quigley had said he had no evidence that the drawing up of SIM 263 was due to improper influence, after being asked if somebody could have had "a game of golf with a senior executive in the bank the week beforehand". It would have come in as a "holding operation", he said. Mr Quigley was not working in the Revenue Commissioners in 1986 when the document was drawn up.
It was Mr Quigley who first pointed out that Mr Brown was working in another audit area at the time SIM 263 was drawn up.
In response to questions by Mr Mitchell on the dearth of documentation at board level in Revenue, Mr Quigley replied that nonessential documentation was periodically culled. He denied there had been "strategic culling" in advance of the DIRT inquiry.