A report into the Garda handling of the investigation into the murder of French woman Sophie Toscan du Plantier is currently being finalised and is expected to be presented to Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy within the next few weeks, The Irish Timeshas learned.
A team under Assistant Garda Commissioner Ray McAndrew has spent the past year reviewing the Garda investigation into Ms Toscan du Plantier's murder 10 years ago, after a solicitor for Ian Bailey expressed concerns to Mr Conroy about how the investigation was conducted.
The review team has spoken to dozens of people, including journalists who covered the killing and Mr Bailey's subsequent arrest.
It is expected that a preliminary draft of the report will be completed by the review team by the end of next week.
Mr McAndrew expects to be able to present a finalised version to Mr Conroy possibly before Christmas or early in January.
The review team was set up in October 2005 by Mr Conroy.
Mr McAndrew's team, led by Chief Supt Willie Keane and Det Supt John McKeown, began interviewing people involved in the investigation in December 2005.
The team of detectives met Mr Bailey accompanied by his solicitor, Frank Buttimer, on at least five occasions, while they also spoke a number of times to his partner, Jules Thomas, and to a key witness, former Schull shopkeeper, Marie Farrell.
Ms Farrell had originally told gardaí that she had seen Mr Bailey at Kealfadda Bridge, some 1.6 miles from Ms Toscan du Plantier's home at Toormore, Schull, on the night of the murder, December 22nd-23rd, 1996.
In October 2005, she withdrew that statement, claiming that it was false and inaccurate.
It was on foot of Ms Farrell's withdrawal of her statement that Mr Buttimer wrote to Mr Conroy expressing concerns about the Garda investigation.
Ms Farrell made allegations regarding some gardaí which the review team have followed up by speaking to all witnesses from whom those gardaí took statements.
They wanted to see if any of these had any complaints about the manner in which their statements were taken.
Contacted about the review, Mr Buttimer said that his client had actively co-operated with the inquiry and was awaiting with interest the completion of the report and the response to it from the Garda Commissioner.
Meanwhile the state solicitor for west Cork, Malachy Boohig, confirmed at a special sitting of Bandon District Court yesterday that the State would not be contesting an application by Mr Bailey for the return of diaries and notebooks seized from him by gardaí.
Mr Buttimer told The Irish Times last night that the decision by the State not to contest the application was confirmation that the State had abandoned all interest in Mr Bailey as a potential suspect for the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier.
