The tribunal investigating payments to Mr Charles Haughey and Mr Michael Lowry is to begin hearing evidence in public next month.
The chairman of the Payments to Politicians Tribunal, Mr Justice Moriarty, yesterday accused some financial institutions of being unco-operative and unhelpful to the tribunal.
"A tribunal established by unanimous resolution of the Oireachtas is entitled to better," he said.
The tribunal yesterday heard evidence in private from Ms Sandra Kells, who as financial director of Guinness and Mahon Bank gave evidence to the Dunnes Payments Tribunal concerning the operation of the Ansbacher accounts. It was out of these accounts that money to finance Mr Haughey's lifestyle was paid.
Mr Justice Moriarty said yesterday Guinness and Mahon was not one of the financial institutions he was accusing of having an uncooperative attitude. However, a minority of financial institutions had got involved in "protracted and convoluted correspondence and tardiness or non-compliance in relation to orders which I have to say appears unhelpful and lacking in due co-operation".
He expressed "regret and disappointment" that public sittings of the tribunal had not commenced before Christmas.
This delay was not due to "indolence" on the part of the tribunal, its legal advisers and staff, who had done considerable amounts of weekend work.
The delay was due to the large number of matters that had to be investigated, the volume of documentation to be considered, the need to consider what recommendations need be made, the need to comply with the Supreme Court decision on the procedures to be followed in seeking discovery of documents and the unco-operative attitude of some financial institutions.
He said the tribunal would deal with the evidence it has gathered by grouping items together and dealing with them at separate sittings of the tribunal. This was preferable to assembling all material relevant to every term of reference and then presenting it at one long continuous sitting.
He said some information had been disclosed in the media in a way that did not allow those affected to protect their interests. He said he was not commenting on the accuracy or otherwise of such media reports.
The tribunal was likely to begin several weeks of public sittings at the end of January to consider a certain amount of evidence. The tribunal would then consider moving on to public hearings on other material if it "transpires to be relevant".