The Public Accounts Committee has been forced to abandon a meeting with officials from the Department of Finance - after legal advice from its own lawyers.
TDs were due to meet senior civil servants to correct the record after the discovery of lost documents relating to the sale of SiteServ by IBRC.
But the committee - chaired by John McGuinness (pictured) - was given legal advice saying any discussion could compromise the Commission of Investigation which is now looking into matters relating to IBRC.
Senior civil servants had addressed the committee some weeks ago discussing matters relating to SiteServ, the documents received by the Department about its sale, and the cost of the inquiry being undertaken by IBRC's liquidators.
They informed TDs they had never received a copy of IBRC's board minutes from March 15, 2012 - where the sale of SiteServ to a Denis O'Brien-owned vehicle was agreed. A copy of those minutes was subsequently discovered within the Department.
Today FM understands that the Department of Finance had separate legal advice indicating said there should have been no problem in returning to the committee to correct the record.
Senior civil servants including the secretary-general Derek Moran were prepared to take questions about the matter and about other practices within the Department, including filing systems.
But they were forced to wait outside the meeting room while the PAC was warned by its own legal advisors that the matter was out of bounds because of the Commission of Investigation set up by the Dáil yesterday.
Eventually the committee had to accept its advice - which also indicated that the matter was beyond the remit of the PAC - and agree to abandon the scheduled meeting.
