The Department of Finance will release further documents tomorrow in relation to the sale of construction firm Siteserv by IBRC.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has said he was assured that the sale of Siteserv to a company controlled by businessman Denis O'Brien was in the best interest of the taxpayer.

IBRC wrote off more than €100m of Siteserv's debts.

Today, Taoiseach Enda Kenny raised the possibility that the public spending watchdog, the Comptroller and Auditor General, would examine the transaction.

However, Independent TD Catherine Murphy and Public Accounts Committee Chairman John McGuinness have questioned whether the C&AG has the power to do so as Siteserv is a private company.

Ms Murphy said she would have confidence in the C&AG looking at the sale.

Interview with Minister Michael Noonan

Speaking on RTÉ's Six One News, Minister Noonan said he was only aware of the sale of Siteserv to a company controlled by Mr O'Brien, after the transaction had happened, after over €100m of its debts were written off.

Mr Noonan also said that the shareholders of Siteserv needed to be paid €5m in order to conclude the deal or it was suggested the taxpayer could have lost more money.

He said the legal arrangement when Anglo Irish Bank became IBRC was that the bank did not have to notify the minister of any commercial decisions.

He said he had since changed that so that they had to notify him of any transaction over €100m.

Mr Noonan said he had received assurance from the chairman and chief executive that the transaction was in the best interest of the taxpayers and he said he had trusted and accepted this advice.

He said there were concerns about this and other deals and that there would be more information about them contained in the Freedom of Information documents that will be released by his department tomorrow.

'Concerns over a number of decisions'

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin earlier said there were concerns over a number of decisions relating to the sale of Siteserv.

During Leaders' Questions in the Dáil, Mr Martin asked the Taoiseach about the sale and said Department of Finance officials wanted an independent assessment of the deal.

Mr Kenny said the bank that was Anglo Irish Bank was the "rotten carcass" that brought down the country.

He said the actions that were concluded by the IBRC board were concluded under the old framework agreement by the previous government.

He said Minister Noonan has been clear that he had concerns about the decision making in IBRC around transactions like the Siteserv deal.

He told the Dáil the minister had met the IBRC chairman and was reassured the transaction was in the best interest of the taxpayer.

Mr Kenny said Mr Noonan had changed the framework to make it mandatory for the IBRC to notify his department.

The Taoiseach said it was agreed on 31 May 2012 to review the transaction involving Siteserv and the shareholding managing unit of the department recommended an independent review of the transaction.

He said Mr Noonan met IBRC on 25 July 2012 to discuss the deal and the IBRC chairman and chief executive had given strong assurances that the transaction had been thoroughly assessed by the board to get the best result for the State.

He said that a commitment was made that the department would not interfere in any transaction made by IBRC.

Mr Martin accused the Government of hiding behind "opaque language" and that the Government had agreed that it was okay to pay the shareholders €5 million.

He cited documents released under the Freedom of Information Act that demonstrated concerns of civil servants over the management team in IBRC and the transaction.

Mr Kenny said Mr Martin is now questioning the framework that his party put in place when it was in government and said: “I hope you are not questioning the integrity of the Minister for Finance”.

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams also called for an independent inquiry and noted the chairman of IBRC, Alan Dukes, was a former Fine Gael leader.

He also accused the Government of having a despicable attitude when dealing with the impoverished citizens of this country

The Taoiseach said Mr Adams has consistently refused to answer questions about his links with dubious characters.

In a statement today, Mr Dukes said: "I categorically reject suggestions that there was any impropriety in the sale of Siteserv by IBRC in March 2012.

"All aspects of the sale were considered in detail by the board of the bank and the decision made was considered to be the best course of action available, in the interests of the shareholder and of the State.

"The Department of Finance was kept informed throughout the process. Some time later, the Department of Finance raised questions about the sale, apparently on foot of public comments by a company which had made a non-compliant bid.

"These questions were examined in detail during discussions between departmental officials and senior management of the bank. They were again discussed at a meeting between the Minister for Finance and representatives of the board at a meeting in July.

"During that discussion, the board representatives informed the Minister that the matter had been referred to the Central Bank, which had no comments to make.

"At the conclusion of that discussion, the Minister professed himself satisfied with the bank's reasoning and decisions."

Earlier, Minister for Communications Alex White said it was not for him to say whether there should be an inquiry into deal.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr White said he had not had an opportunity to discuss information obtained through a Freedom of Information request with Mr Noonan.

He noted that the bank itself and Mr Dukes had said the best deal possible was obtained and he had no reason to disagree.

Mr White said if there were issues there to be addressed, the Government would address them.

Opposition TDs, including Catherine Murphy, have called for an independent inquiry into the sale of the company.

Yesterday, Minister of State at the Department of Finance Simon Harris said the sale of Siteserv was viewed at the time as "the ordinary course of business".

Responding to a question from Ms Murphy, Mr Harris said IBRC, formerly Anglo Irish Bank, was not required to consult with the Minister for Finance to approve the sale of Siteserv at the time.