The Government's strategy for dealing with the scandal of the abuse of young swimmers has been further clouded by speculation that the Cabinet is unlikely to announce formally a judicial inquiry until after it has further consulted swimming coach Derry O'Rourke's victims.
The prospect of the emergence of child-abuse cases in other sports, with subsequent demands for sworn investigations, is understood to be partly contributing to the Government's hesitation in ordering the inquiry.
Last night it emerged that some of O'Rourke's victims had approached the Department earlier, saying they, unlike the other victims and their families, did not want such a public investigation because it would be too intrusive. It is understood that, for some of the victims, a guarantee of anonymity would be insufficient to persuade them to participate.
The Cabinet will today discuss all the issues, and sources last night insisted that a full sworn public investigation is still the most likely outcome "because the weight of opinion is behind such a development".
The Minister for Tourism and Sport, Dr McDaid, will today present his Cabinet colleagues with an outline of all the circumstances surrounding the handling of the O'Rourke child-abuse case, but his aide memoire will not make a specific recommendation.
As Ministers meet to consider whether a judicial inquiry is the only means of unravelling the truth behind the abuses, the Government is under pressure to broaden an inquiry to include cases involving the other swimming coach, George Gibney.
The role of the IASA in responding to allegations of abuse would be central to any investigation.
Explaining her reluctance to go down the road of another judicial inquiry, the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, said: "Ideally I would prefer if a Dail committee could get the information, and certainly if the Compellability of Witnesses legislation was fully in force.
"If the regulations were fully enforced, I believe a Dail committee could probably get the facts," she added.