A key US official involved in the investigation of child pornography sites has visited Ireland in recent weeks to brief staff of the special Oireachtas committee investigating Judge Brian Curtin.
Michael Mead, of the US Postal Inspection Service, was one of the lead investigators in the case which linked thousands of credit card numbers and users to a Texas-based internet firm offering access to child pornography.
However it is now increasingly apparent that a decision by the Oireachtas on whether to impeach Judge Curtin, will not be possible before the beginning of November, when he can retire on health grounds and with a pension of €25,000.
Judge Curtin was one of a number of Irish people charged with possession of child pornography following a series of raids in May 2002 as part of Operation Amethyst. The raids followed a tip-off from the US postal inspection agency which provided the credit card details of more than 100 Irish residents, which had been uncovered in an investigation in the US.
Mr Mead was one of the lead investigators in the case which found the credit card numbers on the computer system of a Texas-based firm which was providing access to child pornography.
It has also emerged that the special Oireachtas committee is expected to make an order seeking further computer records from Judge Curtin. The records being sought are believed to be of a database nature. The committee has already served orders to obtain notebooks, copies of computer files and Garda records in the investigation.
The committee, chaired by Fianna Fáil TD Denis O'Donovan, is to meet this morning for the first time since the summer to discuss developments on the investigation, including Mr Mead's visit.
They are also to hear details about a special report commissioned by computer experts who had access to copies of data held on the hard drive of Judge Curtin's computer. The report also includes a study of other financial and diary records belonging to Judge Curtin to establish if there are any links between them.
The committee is expected to decide on the dates of a series of special closed hearings on the case next month. The committee has decided to give Judge Curtin at least four weeks' notice of the hearings, which could last up to two weeks. Informed sources now predict that the committee will not be in a position to complete its full report and present it to the Oireachtas before November 1st.
It is now highly unlikely that the committee will have its work completed by November.
From this date Judge Curtin would be able to retire on a pension of €25,000 a year. The committee was established by the Oireachtas in 2004 to advise on whether the judge should be impeached.
Judge Curtin was charged with possession of child pornography. He pleaded not guilty and was acquitted on direction of the court in 2004 as the search warrant in the case was out of date. He brought unsuccessful High Court and Supreme Court challenges to the planned Oireachtas inquiry into whether to impeach him.