Aer Rianta's report into claims of unpaid gifts to a Government department in the early 90s will now not be completed until next week at the earliest.
In a short statement issued through a public relations company this afternoon, Aer Rianta said the delay was to allow company auditors, KPMG, to produce a report based on the inquiry. The auditors will then present its findings to the board of Aer Rianta.
It was thought the airports operator would complete its investigation after talking to Mr Liam Flood, a senior executive returning from his post in Russia yesterday to assist inquiries.
But the company have refused to say whether the questioning of Mr Flood has been completed.
It is understood the Department of Transport's own inquiry will be completed once it receives a response to questions it submitted to the airport's operator earlier this week.
The Department says it is keen to make the information public as soon as possible but wants to wait for Aer Rianta's report and publish both simultaneously.
The company has so far refused to confirm whether they will publish their report in full.
Although a semi-state body, Aer Rianta is not subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. If it does not publish its report in full then details of its inquiries may never be made public.
If it makes its report available to the Department, then the information would be accessible under the FOI but the Department has no legal powers to compel Aer Rianta to pass on full details of its findings.
However, members of the company's board could be questioned before a Dáil committee and Minister for Transport, Mr Seamus Brennan has the power to sack the board and appoint a new one instructed to disclose full details of the investigation.
Mr Brennan is at the centre of the allegation that around €5,000-worth of cigars and brandy was obtained from Aer Rianta and used as corporate or personal gifts in the early 90s. He was Minister for Tourism and Transport between 1989 and 1999 and Minister for Transport and Communications in 1991 and 1992.
The Sunday Independentreported the story at the weekend but was unclear whether the minister or officials at his former departments were implicated.
There is scepticism in political circles about the report, with some believing that figures within Aer Rianta are attempting to embarrass Mr Brennan. The company is fighting plans to allow another operator run a second terminal at Dublin Airport. The breaking up of Aer Rianta is also under consideration.
The company denies leaking the story.
Fine Gael transport spokesman, Mr Denis Naughten says the Department's report must show what action was taken when the then Aer Rianta acting chairman Mr Dermot O'Leary told Mr Brennan about the unpaid bill in 1993.
But Mr Naughten says vital information in relation to the controversy can only come from the company's report. "We need to see documentary evidence of which Aer Rianta executive brought the alleged bill to the attention of Dermot O'Leary."