Mr. Declan Doyle:

It is a reasonable effort. The one-year period is very tight. The Bar Council does not have a strong view on this but, from my experience, the circumstances in which a court will extend the one year to two years has given rise to a string of cases and authorities. A body of law has grown up in respect of these cases, many of which are not media cases. The body of law in respect of the circumstances in which a court should extend it to two years has turned into a kind of extension of the unconscionable delay in bringing the proceedings. It is another layer of unnecessary complexity. Once that element of discretion is introduced, people will go to law about it. It is already giving rise to more litigation and costs and all that. A two-year statute, rather than one year with the discretionary facility to extend to two years, may be more appropriate. That is a personal view rather than anything on behalf of the Bar Council.