The Government yesterday called for a full public inquiry into the murder of the Belfast solicitor, Mr Pat Finucane.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said it was the Government's "clear view" that the case for a public inquiry into Mr Finucane's murder in 1989 was "compelling".
In a statement issued after a meeting in Government Buildings attended by Mr Ahern; the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen; the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell; and Finucane family members, the Taoiseach said the Finucane case remained a "cause of the deepest concern".
"Pat Finucane's murder was not only abhorrent in itself, it also represents a fundamental attack on the legal profession and the system of justice," Mr Ahern said.
Ms O'Donnell said all the evidence pointed to Mr Finucane having been only one victim of an "appalling vista of collusion". The failure of Britain to hold an inquiry was "intolerable inaction".
Ms O'Donnell said after meeting the Finucane family last year, she was in no doubt there was a compelling case for a full public inquiry. "Since then there has been very little activity from the British side. We are very disappointed."
Ms O'Donnell paid tribute to the Finucanes for their "polite perseverance" for an inquiry and said there was now overwhelming evidence to support their wishes.
It is understood that the Taoiseach is to take up the matter personally with the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, and is to ask him if he will meet the Finucane family to discuss the matter.
Mrs Geraldine Finucane said yesterday she hopes the Government's support will lead to a full public inquiry. "The collusion that has been exposed in my husband's case is a mere tip of the iceberg, an iceberg covering all of Northern Ireland," she said.
At the meeting a copy of British-Irish Rights Watch's latest report on the case was handed over, as well as a legal opinion from Amnesty International, which argues that there is no legal barrier to holding a public inquiry while a police investigation is under way.
One man has been charged with Mr Finucane's murder, which, the family claims, was committed with the collusion of the North's security forces.