MR Ben Dunne made contributions of £100,000 to Fine Gael in 1993, £50,000 in 1992 and £30,000 in 1989, senior party sources have confirmed.
The Taoiseach did not inform the company's former managing director that he was going public in the early hours of yesterday morning to say his party had received funds totalling £180,000 from him.
Earlier in the day, party spokesmen had said it was up to Mr Dunne, and not the party, to state if he had contributed funds to Fine Gael.
The former Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, Mr Michael Lowry, was appointed chairman of the party's trustees and director of finances in April 1993 and, along with Mr Bruton, was directly involved in seeking the money from Mr Dunne to clear Fine Gael debts.
Mr Lowry is still chairman of the trustees, who meet eight times a year and are next due to meet in January.
According to party sources, a statement clarifying Mr Lowry's personal business involvement with Mr Dunne is expected to be made to the Dail before Christmas.
Mr Lowry is largely credited with radically reducing the party's £2 million debt by leading an intensive fund raising campaign and is understood to have asked most of the major companies for contributions.
"The party's finances were at meltdown," one source says. "We were on the verge of not being able to pay salaries. The money from Dunnes was used to pay off the debts."
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Fine Gael parliamentary party, Mr Phil Hogan, is expected to report tomorrow to the Taoiseach on whether any TDs, senators or MEPs received contributions from Dunnes Stores.
Mr Bruton asked Mr Hogan to establish if personal payments were made to any of the 66 individuals by Dunnes Stores and to report to him within 48 hours.
Up to yesterday evening, Mr Hogan had managed to contact 70 per cent of the parliamentary party. It is understood that, if any names emerge as recipients of Dunnes contributions, they will not be identified publicly.
Mr Hogan said the party would probably adopt the same policy as the Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, who confirmed that three of his Oireachtas members had received contributions. He did not, however, say who these people were.
It is understood that Fianna Fail, on four occasions between 1990 and 1994, sought funding from Dunnes Stores but did not get a reply.
In two instances, an impersonal letter - one of many to different businesses - was sent to Dunnes Stores and, on the other occasions, Mr Ben Dunne and his sister, Mrs Margaret Heffernan, were asked directly for a contribution.
It is understood that neither replied positively to the request.