The policy of the DPP of not explaining his decisions will continue despite his apology to a man whose wife was killed in a traffic accident seven years ago.
The apology concerned an administrative error that led to the time limit for the case running out so it could not be prosecuted. This had no bearing on giving reasons for a decision not to prosecute, according to the DPP, Mr James Hamilton.
Mr Aidan Brannigan took legal action against Ireland, the Attorney General and the DPP when the case against the driver of the car that killed his wife was not proceeded with because it was statute barred. The case was settled earlier this year.
The accident occurred in 1997, two years before the present DPP took office, and the date of the accident was inadvertently wrongly entered on the documentation, leading to the delay.
Part of the settlement of Mr Brannigan's action was that he receive an apology from the DPP, which he did.
This is not the first time the DPP has expressed regret that a case did not proceed because it ran out of time. Seven years ago, Justin Clark (18) died in Castlebar as a result of a morphine overdose. He had obtained the morphine from a friend, who had taken it from the bag of his father, a local GP, who was on holiday.
The local gardaí sent a file to the DPP which arrived on a Friday, one day before the time limit under the statute of limitations was due to expire. When the officer in the DPP's office examined the file on the Monday morning he realised it was out of time, and he could not proceed with it. The DPP wrote to the family explaining the situation, and expressing his regret.