The Department of Jobs says a witness statement from the tax evasion whistleblower has now been sent to gardaí.

The department says the statement has been sent to the Bureau of Fraud Investigation, almost two years after it was written by whistleblower Gerry Ryan.

The dossier from Mr Ryan on alleged tax evasion was sent to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last week.

It accuses the Jobs Minister Richard Bruton of refusing to pass on the statement.

However, the Department of Jobs says the statement needed to confirm with certain legal requirements before it could be sent to gardaí, and blamed the delay on staff shortages.

A statement on behalf of Mr Bruton says he is "constrained in what he can say about these matters as they may be the subject of investigations and future courtcases."

"As the Minister said in his comprehensive statement on Saturday, all matters contained in the statement are covered by the documents already submitted during the years 2004-2010 to the relevant authorities."

"Bodies like the Revenue Commissioners, the ODCE, the gardaí, the DPP and tribunals are independent precisely to ensure that politicians are kept out of investigating issues like tax evasion."

"It would be extremely unwise for any Minister or politician to get involved or interfere in any way with investigations by these bodies, and Minister Bruton has been careful to respect these principles throughout this process," it adds.