The Minister for Justice said he would take "all steps available" to ensure the costs of the Ansbacher report would be paid for by corporate bodies and not taxpayers.

Mr McDowell also reiterated that there would be difficulties in instituting criminal prosecutions, despite Opposition criticisms. "To point out that truth is not in any sense to condone it," he said, but "it is simply to lead public opinion fairly, not to orchestrate it in a way which is bound to disappoint sooner rather than later". He added that it did not suit some deputies to acknowledge the truth.

The Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, challenged the Government to "make up your minds" and confirm that either there would be prosecutions or there would not. He also said the Ansbacher report was "a deep disappointment". It was a crude and blunt instrument, which "blurs the boundaries between guilt and innocence".

The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, told the Dáil it was a matter of grave concern and "needed to be followed up" that certain people or entities had undertaken banking activities without a licence. The Central Bank had offered to provide full assistance to the DPP in relation to this matter.

The majority of the 224 identified Ansbacher cases were still under active investigation, and there were some 700 other "connected entities" on which the Revenue Commissioners were assembling information, Mr McCreevy said.

Mr Kenny said he was worried that the Government appeared to be confused on the issue of prosecutions.

On Saturday the Minister for Justice had "taken to the television" to dampen down public expectations of prosecutions. But on Tuesday the Taoiseach had hit the headlines saying he fully expected prosecutions to follow. Either there would be prosecutions or there would not.