Relatives of those killed in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings tonight expressed hope that a new source of information could boost their search for justice.
The Commission of Investigation into the 1974 bombings, which killed 33 people and one unborn child, was granted a four-week extension to its deadline for submission after being approached by new witnesses earlier this month.
Margaret Urwin, secretary of victims' group, Justice for the Forgotten, said it was necessary for Mr McEntee to fully explore any new source that came forward.
"While we don't know who the entities are, it's fairly obvious it must be somebody outside the jurisdiction," she said.
"We just don't know of course - the process is entirely private.
"The people I've spoken to say obviously it's better if there's a specific avenue to explore to do that. It's not a case of it dragging on for years, it's a genuine attempt to explore a new avenue."
The commission was set up last May to investigate why the original Garda investigation was wound down, why officers did not follow-up certain leads, how documents relating to the case went missing.
It is thought likely that the new witnesses are connected to the security forces in Northern Ireland though considerable secrecy surrounds the inquiry because it has access to files of a sensitive nature, many of which could not be put before an open court.