Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly has not had a meeting with Volkswagen Ireland Managing Director Lars Himmer to discuss the emissions fixing scandal, despite his office sending a written request for one on 25 September 2015.
In a letter, obtained by RTÉ News under the Freedom of Information Act, Minister Kelly's personal secretary said he was contacting Mr Himmer "as a matter of urgency".
In it, the company's admission that it had installed software to cheat emissions tests in 11 million of its diesel cars worldwide was described as a "worrying revelation" that required "immediate discussion to understand the ramifications for vehicle emissions in Ireland."
The Minister wanted to discuss the extent of the issue, whether was occuring in Ireland, and if so how Volkswagen intended to address the matter.
On 29 September Mr Himmer responded and said the company was working on a "comprehensive" refit programme, the details for which would be finalised by 7 October.
Mr Zimmer wrote that he was "of course ready to meet as soon as possible," but asked "for a date soonest possible after October 7."
Today a Department of Environment spokesperson said that no such meeting had taken place but said that "meetings with Volkswagen have taken place at a senior official level" and he expected they would have more meetings.
VW slumps to first quarterly loss in 15 years
Earlier, Volkswagen posted its first quarterly loss in at least 15 years and said the €6.7 billion set aside to cover the costs of rigging of diesel emissions tests was likely just a start.
Almost six weeks after it admitted using illegal software to cheat US diesel emissions tests, Europe's biggest car maker is under pressure to identify those responsible and fix up to 11 million affected vehicles.
It must also convince regulators, investors and customers that it will not make the same mistakes again.
The biggest business crisis in its 78-year history has wiped more than a quarter off VW's stock market value, forced out its long-time CEO and tarnished a business held up for generations as a model of German engineering prowess.
VW today reported a third-quarter operating loss of €3.48 billion, in line with the €3.47 billion loss forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts.
It set aside €6.7 billion in the three month period from July to September to cover costs related to the scandal, up from the €6.5 billion announced a week after the cheating became public on September 18.
As a result, the German group said it now expected its operating profit to drop "significantly below" last year's record €12.7 billion, even though its car sales are seen matching last year's record 10.14 million deliveries.
The costs so far are largely related to the refitting of affected vehicles, and CEO Matthias Mueller has said they are likely to rise because the company is not yet in a position to estimate its potential liabilities from lawsuits.
"It is currently impossible to assess the legal risks connected with the diesel issue due to the early stage of the comprehensive and exhaustive investigations, the complexity of the individual factors and the large number of open questions," the company said in its quarterly report.
"As a consequence, corresponding provisions have not been recognised in the interim financial statements," it added.
Analysts took comfort in VW's robust balance sheet, suggesting the car maker should be able to cope with the costs from regulatory fines, lawsuits and refits which some have said could total as much as €35 billion.
VW's net cash and liquid assets jumped 29% in the quarter to €27.8 billion after it sold a 19.9% stake in Suzuki Motor.
Reserves may keep growing in the fourth quarter when proceeds from a transaction involving VW's holding in financing company LeasePlan, valued at €3.7 billion, are expected to be booked, analysts said.
VW shares closed 3.99% up on the Frankfurt DAX today.
VW may be able to recover from the scandal in two to three years under a new management structure, Mueller said on October 15.
Excluding costs of the scandal, VW said it still expected the group operating margin to come in between 5.5-6.5% this year, after 6.3% in 2014.
VW plans to cut investments by €1 billion a year at its core namesake division, which accounts for 5 million cars to be recalled. Luxury division Audi, source of about 40% of group profit, will also cut planned spending.
VW confirmed the quarterly loss was its first in at least 15 years but, due to accounting changes, was unable to say precisely when the last loss occurred.
VW has said it may also set aside money to help support sales if deliveries are hit by the scandal. Steps could include discounts on new cars if owners turn in old models as well as cheap loans and incentives to dealers to buy back older cars.
Group deliveries, which also include premium brands Audi and Porsche, slid 1.5% in September to 885,300 vehicles and fell 3.4% in the third quarter to 2.39 million.
This caused VW to drop behind Toyota in nine-month global auto sales charts after briefly overtaking its Japanese rival to become world biggest car brand three months earlier.
EU eases diesel car emission limits despite VW scandal
Elsewhere, EU member states agreed today to ease pollution limits for diesel cars when tested under real driving conditions, despite the fallout of the Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal, the European Commission said.
The Commission said that from 2020, car manufacturers will be allowed leeway of 50% above the EU limits on nitrogen oxide emissions, which cause smog and harm public health.
