The Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, has said he has been aware of the allegations of tax evasion against former Fianna Fáil minister, Padraig Flynn, for some time.
It was reported last night that in 1989, Mr Flynn deposited a party donation of £50,000 into a bogus non-resident account.
Speaking to RTÉ News at a conference on media integrity in Dublin, Mr McDowell said the accusations were of the utmost gravity.
He said the Planning Tribunal should deal with the matter, and that its seriousness should not be underestimated.
Separately, in his address to the media conference, Mr McDowell said he is not convinced new legislation to protect the right to privacy would best serve ordinary people.
On reforming the libel laws, the Minister said he believed new privacy laws could be abused by those in positions of power, rather than protecting ordinary people.
Proposals for libel law reform
The Minister also said he expects to publish proposals for reforming the defamation laws later this year.
Mr McDowell also repeated his support for the establishment of a statutory press council, and said the proposal for a council was gathering support.
