The former chairman of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) Alan Dukes said he is "deeply concerned" at the latest developments in the investigation into the work of the former Anglo Irish Bank.

Mr Dukes said the right of IBRC directors to their good names was being prejudiced by the impasse reached by the Commission of Investigation, which is investigating asset disposals by the IBRC involving writedowns of €10 million or more.

The inquiry has stalled because the chair of the commission judge Brian Cregan believes he has insufficient powers to determine how the commission can deal with sensitive financial documents. The judge informed the Taoiseach Eanda Kenny of his concerns on Friday.

The Government is expected to rush emergency legislation through the Dáil this week to overcome this legal obstacle.

Attorney General Maire Whelan is expected to outline to Tuesday's Cabinet meeting what legal options are available to address the issues raised by Mr Cregan.

Speaking in Brussels on Monday Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said he expected the work of the inquiry into IBRC would have been covered by the 2004 Act, which set up the commissions of investigation.

He said there had been several inquiries based on this legislation and each one would have had to acquire confidential information.

Mr Noonan said up until now the public interest had been sufficient for a judge to overrule considerations such as confidentiality. On this occasion the “judge has decided that there are issues of serous import that cannot be decided in the public interest on his present powers”.

Mr Dukes said there was now a real danger that the impasse would “persist for a lengthy period, despite the fact that not a single shred of evidence has been produced to stand up the various allegations and innuendoes circulated during the last six months”.

In a statement released on Monday evening, Mr Dukes said the IBRC directors accepted the judge’s analysis of the reasons for the “apparent impasse”.

Mr Dukes said the directors had made it clear both publicly and to the judge that they will co-operate fully.

“To do so, they need full and unrestricted access to all documents relating to the matters to be investigated. Without such full and unrestricted access, the directors’ legal right to fair process cannot be ensured,” he said.

Mr Dukes said the directors currently did not have access to the list of transactions to be reviewed or as to the nature of any other public interest matters to be considered.

"This is a direct result of claims of confidentiality and legal privilege advanced by the joint special liquidators and the Department of Finance, " he said.

“On the issue of confidentiality, the directors point out that they were participants in the arrangements in relation to which the joint special liquidators and the Department of Finance claim confidentiality and/or privilege.

“The proceedings of the Commission are held in private. In those circumstances, the Directors believe that confidentiality can be preserved throughout the process.”

Meanwhile, the Department of Finance has said it will have sent all “core documents” requested by the IBRC Commission of Investigation to the inquiry by Friday.

A statement released by the Department on Monday said it had co-operated fully with the investigation to date and would continue to do so.

Officials from the Department met the investigation team last Friday. It said “core documents” held by the department which had been requested had been sent to commission and that this process would be “completed by this Friday”.

Notwithstanding the issues raised by Mr Cregan, it is understood he will provide an interim report on his progress within the coming weeks.

A spokeswoman for the Government said the Taoiseach's officials were contacted on Thursday by the commission. Mr Kenny received written correspondence on Friday.

“The Government remains determined to proceed in a fully transparent manner to allay any public concerns there might be around transactions being investigated by the Commission,” she said.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin on Monday condemned the “mess” surrounding the inquiry.

Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy said she had raised questions in the Dáil about the problems faced by the commission weeks ago.

In a tweet on Monday morning, Ms Murphy said she had asked in the Dáil about potential problems facing the commission but said her questions had been ruled out of order. She tweeted on Monday: “but surely if I could ask about potential problems, so could Taoiseach?”

Ceann Comhairle Sean Barrett wrote to Ms Murphy last week to explain why her Dáil questions about potential problems facing the commission had been ruled out of order.

“The Minister has no official responsibility to Dáil Éireann for these matters which are ones for the Commission itself which is independent in the performance of its functions,” Mr Barrett said.