A statutory commission, with High Court powers of investigation and prosecution, is likely to be established by the Fianna Fail/Progressive Democrats Government on foot of the McCracken report into the Dunnes Stores payments to politicians, to be published today.
The response by the Government, which would make it a crime for bankers, accountants and professional advisers not to disclose large or unusual financial transactions involving politicians or public servants to the commission, is unlikely to satisfy the opposition parties.
Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Democratic Left may accept the proposed measures as limited safeguards but they will insist that a new tribunal is urgently required to investigate other controversial business and financial decisions involving governments led by Mr Charles Haughey.
They will also press for an investigation into the so-called "Ansbacher accounts" and into payments to other politicians.
A copy of the McCracken report will be given to the Clerk of the Dail, Mr Kieran Coughlan, this morning and, shortly afterwards, it will be circulated to Oireachtas members. The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has returned from holiday and a copy of the document is to be "E-mailed" to the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, in Chicago.
By mid-afternoon, the political parties are expected to have made considered responses to Mr Justice McCracken's report and recommendations.
The former Taoiseach and Fianna Fail leader, Mr Haughey, is expected to be severely censured by the tribunal because of his consistent denials that he received £1.3 million from Mr Ben Dunne and because of his failure to co-operate with its investigations until the evidence against him was overwhelming.
Mr Justice McCracken is also likely to discount Mr Haughey's evidence to the tribunal that the late Mr Des Traynor was in sole charge of his financial affairs and that he was unaware of the source of the money which funded his extravagant lifestyle when he was Taoiseach.
The report will also state that no evidence was produced, after a search of Government Departments, that Mr Ben Dunne benefited significantly from his contributions to Mr Haughey, or from his unorthodox business relationship with Mr Michael Lowry.
In a submission to the tribunal last July, the Fianna Fail party proposed a series of legislative changes designed to reassure the public about future relations between politicians, public servants and the business community. Mr Justice McCracken is expected to suggest ways in which these proposals might enhance the recently passed Electoral Act and the Ethics in Public Office Act.