The Minister for Finance says the Comptroller & Auditor General can be given extra powers to investigate IBRC's sale of SiteServ - if he wants them.
Michael Noonan and his officials are to spend the weekend investigating ways to produce a preliminary report on how the company was sold by IBRC.
He says that'll be given to the Comptroller & Auditor General - who'll get extra powers over IBRC if he thinks the issue should be investigated.
But the minister says there's still no reason to doubt Alan Dukes when he says the sale was handled correctly - and says the board of IBRC, whose judgement he trusts on the deal, performed valuable public service by taking up their roles.
The comments come after opposition leaders again called for a full inquiry - saying a Commission of Investigation is the only way to get a full investigation into the matter.
Their comments came after the Comptroller & Auditor General said he did not have the power to investigate IBRC and therefore could not conduct an inquiry.
His comments came at the Public Accounts Committee which is now to begin its own parallel inquiry into the Department of Finance's own concerns about IBRC's sale of SiteServ and other assets.
Our political correspondent Gavan Reilly filed this reporr for Today FM's National Lunchtime News:
