Chairman of tribunal into allegations of Garda collusion seeks deadline extension

Smithwick Tribunal:The chairman of the Smithwick Tribunal has written to the Oireachtas seeking to extend the deadline for the inquiry's final report until October.

The tribunal is inquiring into allegations of Garda or State collusion in the IRA ambush of two senior RUC officers, Chief Supt Harry Breen and Supt Bob Buchanan, who were killed near a Border crossing in 1989.

Chaired by former District Court president Judge Peter Smithwick, the tribunal was established in 2005. It began public hearings last June and was initially due to issue its final report last November.

The tribunal was granted an initial six-month extension to its deadline by Minister for Justice Alan Shatter in October.

In a letter sent to the Dáil clerk last week, Judge Smithwick said he was seeking an extension to hear further evidence and to write his final report.