Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring:

Under legislation, we only have 18 months in which to deal with summary matters. Whether a matter is indictable does not matter. The 18-month period is longer than normal, as we recognise. We also recognise that the 18-month period runs from the date of the alleged offence. If someone comes to us straightaway, we have 18 months. If someone does not come to us until six months after the offence, we only have 12 months. If he or she comes to us 12 months after it, we have six months. Therefore, a lot depends on when we receive the complaint in the first instance.

Our practice is to keep a very close eye on the statute, but it is not always possible at the outset of an investigation to know that what we are investigating is a summary matter. We may not realise until after we have gathered evidence that, despite the seriousness attached to the complaint at the outset, the evidence relates to a more minor matter. We are always conscious of the timeframe. Have we ever gone outside it? Again, I cannot say off the top of my head, but it is possible. There are people who have come to us late and there could have been no investigation within the timeframe. Recently, since the complaint was made towards the end of the 18 month period, the Director of Public Prosecutions considered it immediately and directed that a prosecution be taken because we were both conscious that time was against us.