The Standards in Public Office Commission is informally inquiring into complaints that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern breached ethics legislation arising from payments of over €50,000 made to him by friends in the early 1990s.
The commission has been in correspondence with Mr Ahern following complaints lodged in recent months. It is not known who the complainants are.
The Standards in Public Office Commission said it had no comment to make on the matter when contacted yesterday. A spokeswoman for the Taoiseach said last night: "We are not aware of any inquiry but there has been correspondence with the Standards in Public Office Commission following the issues which arose last year."
The complaints claim legislation was breached in relation to appointments made by Mr Ahern to State boards, and also claim that he did not declare any benefit from the loans.
Mr Ahern stated in the Dáil, after details of the payments emerged last September, that he did not breach any ethics rules or laws.
The Standards in Public Office Commission cannot act on a possible breach of the various ethics Acts of its own accord, but can only do so if it gets an official complaint. It is understood more than one complaint was made.
When a complaint is made to the commission an informal inquiry is undertaken. If it is deemed there is a case to answer, an inquiry officer is appointed to formally investigate.
Mr Ahern confirmed last September that he received more than £39,000 (€50,000) in two payments in 1993 and 1994, and a third separate contribution of £8,000 after he attended a business dinner in Manchester. He said the money had been raised without his knowledge, though he had accepted it as "a debt of honour" to help him with costs surrounding his separation from his wife.
Mr Ahern said no repayments had ever been made and no interest had ever been paid on it, though the donors still accept it is a loan, not a gift. In October Mr Ahern said he wrote several cheques repaying the money given to him which inflation and interest brought to over €90,000.
Eight people - Paddy Reilly, Des Richardson, Padraic O'Connor, Jim Nugent, David McKenna, Fintan Gunne, Mick Collins and Charlie Chawke - had given the £22,500. One payment of £5,000 was made, with the rest contributing £2,500.
The second payment, in 1994, was for £16,500, and was from a separate group of friends - Joe Burke, who now serves as Dublin Port and Docks Board chairman, Dermot Carew, Barry English and Paddy "The Plasterer" Reilly, who is a different man to the Paddy Reilly who helped him the previous year.
At least four of the group, including Des Richardson, David McKenna, Jim Nugent and Joe Burke, have served on State boards. Mr Ahern has insisted that no favours had been offered or received following the payments.
Under the Standards in Public Office Commission's rules, State appointments "should be made on the basis of merit, taking into account the skills, qualifications and experience of the person to be appointed". Regarding the acceptance of gifts or free services, the commission guidelines to office-holders say they should "be particularly sensitive of acceptance of gifts or hospitality from friends."