The authorised officer examining three companies linked to the Ansbacher affair has submitted a "progress report" to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Martin.
The Minister's spokesman said he had received the report "in the past week" from Mr Gerry Ryan, the officer who has been investigating the affairs of College Trustees, Hamilton Ross and Guinness & Mahon.
The three companies were linked to Ansbacher (Cayman) Ltd, the offshore company which was found by the High Court to have facilitated large-scale tax evasion by a group of wealthy depositors.
Mr Ryan wanted to continue his work when he was directed to wind down his examination last year.
The direction was issued by the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, who then held the Enterprise, Trade and Employment portfolio.
Ms Harney said on RTÉ radio yesterday that the direction was in line with advice from the Attorney General and officials in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
She said she sought the completion of Mr Ryan's report to pass the information to bodies such as the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, which is empowered to seek a High Court investigation into the companies.
However, the Labour leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, who first raised the issue, said last night that Ms Harney's power to issue the direction to Mr Ryan was in question.
"We do know that the statutory instrument enabled the examination to continue until it is complete, and that clearly Mr Gerard Ryan does not believe his work is in fact complete," he said.
"That statutory instrument made in 2001 does not appear to have been revoked and, if this is the case, it calls into question the validity of the purported direction to the authorised officer."
A spokesman said the Tánaiste's actions were based on legal advice, and that she was confident she had acted with the appropriate authority. He said any suggestion that Ms Harney had sought to cover up the report was at variance with the fact that her direction was an attempt to expedite the investigation.
Mr Ryan's examination had taken "very much longer than envisaged" and it was deemed preferable to complete a report so it could be passed on to the authorities empowered to advance the process.
Mr Rabbitte said Ms Harney should explain why Mr Ryan disagreed with her direction, and said there was no legal obstacle against her setting out the detailed reasons for the direction. This was strongly disputed by Ms Harney's spokesman.
