The commission investigating the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings has been given two more months in which to complete its work after telling the Government it made contact with a new witness last week.
In a report presented to the Cabinet yesterday, the commission, which is examining the original Garda inquiry into the bombings, said investigations relating to this newly contacted witness would be the final aspect of its work. It gave no details as to the identity of this witness or to which aspect of the matter he or she was relevant.
In general, according to the commission's report: "The commission considers that it has succeeded in its investigative work, in obtaining newly disclosed material in relation to each of the individual matters set out in its terms of reference."
The commission, whose sole member is Patrick MacEntee SC, told the Government yesterday that just nine days ago it managed to meet a person it had been seeking in relation to an aspect of its work. This meeting took place outside the State.
The commission was set up in May 2005. Last November, and again last January, the Government agreed to requests from the commission for extensions of the time it had allowed for production of a report.
The first extension was granted after Mr MacEntee said it wanted to give the British government a reasonable time to respond to a request that it be allowed meet certain people and see certain documents. Last January's extension came after the commission said it had further evidence to take from some individuals and further documents to inspect.
The matters to be investigated by the commission include the reason the investigation into the bombings was discontinued at what the families of victims say was a very early stage, and the reason why specific leads were not followed up.
This is the first commission of investigation established under legislation passed last year to introduce faster inquiries into matters of public concern.