Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring:

No, it is in the Act and has occasionally been used. We do not have and have not had cause to have a provision to deal with historical complaints about actions of the police service, North or South. We have considered the practice across the Border to see the challenges faced in that regard. In the main, we have had great difficulty in dealing with such cases because of practical issues such as the retirement of gardaí or loss of evidence. It is an issue to which we might be able to give more consideration if we had more personnel. Extending the time limit would clearly be of importance in such cases.