Time may have run out for the present Government to debate the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, families of the victims said today.
Relatives said the latest delay in the report into the 1974 atrocities was a disappointing blow to hopes for a full Dáil discussion.
Patrick MacEntee SC QC, the sole member of the commission investigating the bombings which killed 34 innocent people including an unborn baby, said he needed another month to complete his findings.
In his eighth interim report, it was confirmed that not everyone who gave evidence to the commission has yet endorsed a transcript of their testimony, as required under the law.
Mr MacEntee revealed that three people have asked the commission for its archive material for a civil case in the High Court.
But he insists that it has no authority to hand over the evidence.
The Attorney General has appointed a legal team to represent the commission in the High Court but it is not expected to further delay the report.
The investigation into the original garda inquiry of the attacks, for which no-one was ever convicted, is now expected to be completed by March 13.
The commission was also charged with trying to trace missing garda and Department of Justice files from the time.
Margaret Urwin, of the relatives group Justice for the Forgotten, said the latest set-back was a worrying development.
"We are very concerned about the timing at this stage because of the impending election," she said.
"Time is seriously running out on this and may have already ran out.
PA