Officials in the Department of the Environment and the Office of Public Works (OPW) have been ordered to produce e-mails and "post-it" notes for the inquiry into the award of public relations contracts to a close political associate of the Minister for Transport, Mr Cullen.
Staff at both bodies have been told to provide all records related to the engagement of Ms Monica Leech for an examination by the Standards in Public Office Commission, which wants the information by January 9th.
The commission has said it will decide in the light of such records whether it should proceed with an investigation under the Ethics in Public Office Acts.
The former head of the Revenue, Mr Dermot Quigley, has also contacted senior officials in the Department and the OPW as part of his investigation into the contracts, which was ordered this week by the Government.
It is understood that Mr Quigley has not requested a trawl of records, although he has already questioned officials in the OPW about procedures, practice and payments in relation to the award of public relations contracts. OPW staff were informed in an office notice on Tuesday that they should provide copies of all "correspondence, records, e-mails or post-it notes" that make any reference to Ms Leech for an affidavit being prepared for the commission.
It is understood that staff in the Department of the Environment are compiling similar information after the commission gave the Department 21 days to make discovery on oath of all documents in its possession or control in relation to the contracts.
Ms Leech was engaged by the OPW in December 2001 when Mr Cullen was minister of State with responsibility for the office. She was paid €42,902 for work which continued until June 2003.
When Mr Cullen was appointed to the Cabinet in mid-2002 as minister for the environment, Ms Leech was engaged to provide PR advice to that Department at a rate of €800 per day on a three-day-week basis.
She has received some €300,000 from the Department under the terms of that contract, which is continuing.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, moved Mr Cullen to the Department of Transport when he reshuffled the Cabinet last September.
It emerged yesterday that Ms Leech took representations on policy issues on behalf of Mr Cullen when he was minister for the environment. In work similar to that of a ministerial adviser, Ms Leech last year met interest groups who were lobbying Mr Cullen on policy issues.
It is understood that Mr Quigley's inquiry will examine such meetings to establish whether they were part of Ms Leech's duties as PR consultant.
The Irish Times has established that a group of Waterford businessman sought a meeting with Mr Cullen in October 2003 over their concerns about the possible relaxation of the cap on supermarket sizes. The businessmen were concerned about the impact this could have if it allowed superstores into Ireland. Mr Cullen was unable to meet them, and instead Ms Leech represented the minister.
In response to an Irish Daily Mirror report yesterday saying the Minister had been "rushed to hospital" on Monday, Mr Cullen's spokesman said he was fit and well.
"The Minister will be having a minor operation to do with a hernia in the new year and he visited his consultant early in the week," he said.