The Fianna Fail backbench TD, Ms Beverley Cooper-Flynn, has vigorously denied allegations against her by a retired Meath farmer, Mr James Howard, and has instituted legal proceedings against him and RTE.
Following the appearance by Mr Howard and his daughter, Marina, on RTE radio and television yesterday, Ms Cooper-Flynn issued her third statement in less than a week to reject strongly his allegations that she had helped him put money into an offshore account to evade tax.
According to the Mayo TD, who worked for National Irish Bank for seven years before being elected to the Dail in June 1997, Bank records show that another employee, and not her, sold the CMI (Clerical Medical Insurance) product to Mr Howard.
This employee was paid commission for doing so. It is understood the employee is a woman and her name is on the relevant file as the person who sold the controversial product.
"I have received written confirmation from NIB today that Mr Howard's file within NIB contains no reference whatsoever to me," Ms Cooper-Flynn said.
A spokesman for NIB refused to comment on the controversy.
In her statement, Ms Cooper-Flynn also insisted that, in 1993 when Mr Howard purchased a CMI product, she was not working for NIB in the area where the farmer then lived.
She told The Irish Times each NIB employee involved in the scheme was allocated a branch.
"In 1993 I did not work through the Balbriggan branch or the Meath area where he lived," she added.
Denying that she ever went to Mr Howard's house or met his daughter, she added that she saw them for the first time on RTE television yesterday.
On June 19th, Mr Howard told RTE how he had been brought into the CMI offshore scheme, claiming that Ms Cooper-Flynn had introduced him to the plan. He stated that she had, at one point, asked him why the Government should get 15 percent of his money in taxes.
Filmed openly and named by RTE for the first time yesterday, Mr Howard insisted his claims were correct. His daughter, Marina, also said that a couple of years earlier Ms Cooper-Flynn had gone to the family farm to discuss financial matters and she had spoken to her.
Mr Howard claimed that Ms Cooper-Flynn telephoned him and said she understood he had some money that she could invest "in trust . . . and everything would be alright".
According to his daughter, an earlier meeting had taken place with Ms Cooper-Flynn at the Howard family home "sometime around 1990".
They had had a "small, informal conversation"; she noted that Ms Cooper-Flynn had got engaged; her father later pointed out that the bank employee was the daughter of the politician, Mr Padraig Flynn.
Mr Howard was named by the Sunday Independent last weekend as the man behind the allegations.
