A report on the circumstances surrounding the retirement of former Garda commissioner Martin Callinan will be presented to the Government early next year.

Mr Justice Nial Fennelly was asked last April to examine the issue as part of his overall inquiry into the operation of a tape recording system at Garda stations.

In recent weeks he has informed Taoiseach Enda Kenny that he will be in a position to report on the Callinan episode early next year but he requested an extension of time for the completion of his overall report. He was originally given an ambitious deadline of the end of this year to produce his full report.

Extension requested

A Government spokesman said last night that the Taoiseach had responded to the judge’s request by accepting the offer of an interim report and giving the extension requested for the completion of the final report.

As well as dealing with the Callinan affair, Mr Justice Fennelly will also outline in his interim report the magnitude of the full investigation he is conducting.

In April he was asked to look into the Garda telephone recording system, apart from 999 calls to stations, and into the investigation into Sophie du Plantier’s murder in Schull, west Cork in December, 1996.

His terms of reference empowered him to examine how these matters were dealt with by the responsible authorities.

The judge faces an enormous task in examining the taping system alone, starting with finding all of the Garda stations involved, the date the systems were installed, their duration and when they were terminated.

Authorisation

He was also asked to inquire into what authorisation was sought and obtained by the Garda and how the system was managed.

Crucially, he was asked to establish what use, if any the Garda made of the recordings and who within the force knew of the existence, operation, and use of the system.