The Oireachtas committee seeking to investigate the Sheedy case has said it is unable to inquire further into the matter. It has also called for more accountability from the judiciary.
The affair led to the resignation of two judges.
In a report placed before the Oireachtas last night the Committee on Justice, Equality and Women's Rights says it has fully explored the options available to it. The report calls for debate in the Dail and Seanad on what to do next.
The committee had sought to inquire into the circumstances surrounding the release from prison of Dublin architect Philip Sheedy late last year.
Sheedy was released when the then Circuit Court Judge Mr Cyril Kelly suspended the final three years of a four-year sentenced imposed the previous year for dangerous driving causing death while over the legal alcohol limit.
The report calls for early consideration of methods of dealing with judicial conduct deemed unsuitable: "It is the view of the committee that the background to the early release of Mr Sheedy, the constitutional uncertainty preceding the resignations of Messrs Kelly and O'Flaherty and the difficulties encountered by the committee in its attempts to obtain additional information in relation to the facts surrounding Mr Sheedy's release all point to the need for a measure of accountability within the judicial system which clearly does not exist at present."
The committee asked the three individuals at the centre of the controversy to give evidence before it.
The report acknowledges "the unconditional offer of co-operation made by Mr Michael Quinlan", the then County Registrar of the Dublin Circuit Court. It also "notes that Mr Cyril Kelly had not adopted a final position in the matter". It says it "regrets" that Mr Hugh O'Flaherty, then a Supreme Court judge who first inquired of Mr Quinlan whether the Sheedy case could be relisted, had "found himself unable to co-operate with the committee."
The report further regrets that the Chief Justice, Mr Liam Hamilton, found himself unable to assist the committee in its task.
"While the committee concedes that there may be good and valid reasons for the positions adopted by Mr O'Flaherty and the Chief Justice, such reasons have not been made known to the committee to any meaningful extent", the report states.