The Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, was the "champion" of the passports-for-investment scheme, the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, stated in the Dail.

In sharp exchanges during Justice Questions, Mr O'Donoghue accused Mr Bruton of suffering from "amnesia" about his role in the establishment of the scheme and pointed out that Ms Nora Owen (FG, Dublin North) had issued 40 certificates of naturalisation when she was Minister for Justice.

However, Fine Gael's justice spokesman, Mr Jim Higgins, claimed that arrangements for the scheme were so loose during Fianna Fail's administration that it was "easier to get a passport than a medical card". He insisted that the Rainbow Coalition adhered strictly to every safeguard inserted in the administration of the scheme.

The Minister, who yesterday published a summary of his review of the scheme along with some statistics, said that "the foundations of this scheme were laid in the 1980s following a visit to Hong Kong by none other than Deputy John Bruton".

Quoting from the file on the investment scheme, he said "certain far-reaching undertakings to Hong Kong businessmen were given in respect of special terms for naturalisation".

Mr O'Donoghue told Mr Higgins, who raised the issue, that "it would appear that Deputy Bruton has suffered from amnesia since then but he was the champion of this scheme. Of that there is no doubt. It is chronicled".

The review summary states that successive Ministers for Industry and Commerce in the 1980s advocated such a scheme whereby citizenship was given to non-nationals in exchange for investments. However, it was opposed by successive Ministers for Justice on policy grounds.

The Minister said the review he carried out was presented to Government as an "aidememoire". He gave as much information as he could short of "disclosing for reason of personal confidentiality and commercial sensitivity specific details relating to the identity of companies which arise".

Mr Higgins, however, said that in a situation "where every single regulation" and most of the basic provisions that applied to any properly regulated scheme were set aside, all details should be published in full and nothing held back.

The Minister said he had "absolutely nothing to hide" and the events long pre-dated his assuming office. He had given as much information as he could.

"In an unprecedented move, I have published this particular report and I think that Deputy Higgins would do very well to read this particular report extremely carefully before tossing allegations around the House.

"There has been a considerable amount of focusing on certificates granted by the Fianna Fail Ministers," he said.

"Now I am not for one moment suggesting that Deputy Bruton or any of those Ministers operated other than in the national interest, but I am saying that it is instructive to note that Deputy Nora Owen as Minister for Justice issued no less than 40 certificates of naturalisation.

"I have been as upfront as I possibly could be throughout but it is clear that four applications were granted by the Rainbow Coalition government following upon a decision that only those on hand would be dealt with and these applications were granted when the Rainbow Coalition was going out the door."

Mr Higgins said that in the case of the 11 passports granted to Saudi Arabian and Pakistani businessmen by the former Minister, Mr Ray Burke, the residency and oath of fidelity requirements were not met. "Some of the applications were made on wrong forms and there were numerous other technical and legal safeguards which were not in fact met."

He asked: "Is the Minister aware that the arrangements were so loose that it would have been easier to get a passport than a medical card and that they were wide open to exploitation?"

Mr Higgins added that every single safeguard that was inserted by his predecessor, Ms Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, was complied with by the Rainbow government. The inter-departmental group met for every single passport application during the Rainbow's term of office . The group ensured that everything was "kept at arm's length" and the final decision went to Cabinet only by way of recommendation of the group.

The Minister replied: "I think it has to be said that Deputy Higgins seems to be making an innuendo of some type or other. It is on the public record now that the previous government breached its own decision by granting four certificates of naturalisation."