The former top civil servant in the Department of Health met the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, last December "to refresh his memory" about the Department's handling of the nursing home charges issue.
Former secretary general Michael Kelly informed an adviser to the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, about the meeting on December 15th - a day before she tabled legislation in the Dáil to deal with the crisis.
Ms Harney had sought a full report on the background to the affair from Mr Kelly.
The Opposition last night seized on the disclosure that Mr Kelly and Mr Martin had met before Mr Kelly filed his report to Ms Harney.
However, sources close to Ms Harney said it was "not unusual" for contacts to take place between ministers and secretaries general who had previously served with each other.
Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte said "the revelation of a secret meeting" between the two men required a "detailed explanation" from Mr Martin.
"Up to now Minister Martin's frankly unbelievable position has been that not until Mary Harney got legal advice did he become aware of an issue estimated to cost the taxpayer €2 billion despite his junior minister, Ivor Callely, undertaking to brief him on the outcome of a management committee meeting in December 2003 that discussed legal advice from the South Eastern Health Board to the same effect.
"If Minister Martin was genuinely ignorant of the position, why would Mr Kelly want to meet him in private before preparing a report on the issue for his successor?" Mr Rabbitte asked.
However, Mr Kelly and Mr Martin offered sharply differing accounts to John Travers, who investigated the nursing home charges issue.
Fine Gael's health spokesman, Liam Twomey, called on Ms Harney to "clarify the circumstances" surrounding the meeting between Mr Kelly and Mr Martin.
"She must also clarify whether she was briefed afterwards, by either Michael Kelly or her ministerial colleague, and whether Mr Travers was made aware that the meeting had taken place," the Wexford TD said.
Green Party TD John Gormley said Mr Martin faced serious questions because of his decision to meet the former secretary general, who is now to head up the Higher Education Authority.
"It is not advisable for the two men to meet while a report is being drawn up into a situation in which they were both involved," he told The Irish Times.
"It shows a lack of wisdom to meet in those circumstances. There are questions to be asked and answered," the Green Party spokesman said.
