The McGrail Inquiry commission has announced new hearing dates.

On 22 December 2022, the Inquiry announced that it would no longer be possible to hold the Main Inquiry Hearing in March 2023 due to the impact of the suspected data breach on the Inquiry’s resources in November and December 2022.

Following “urgent consideration”, the Main Inquiry Hearing has now been relisted for four weeks from Monday 25 September to Friday 20 October 2023. A fifth week (Monday 23 – Friday 27 October 2023) shall be held in standby should additional hearing time be required.

A statement continued: “The Inquiry recognises the need to conduct the Inquiry in a timely fashion, whilst also allowing adequate time for preparation and the availability of legal teams. A period of 19 months from the date of Commission (4 February 2022) to commencement of the Main Inquiry Hearing in September 2023 is by no means an inordinately lengthy period of time for a complex Inquiry of this nature.”

Third Preliminary Hearing

The Third Preliminary Hearing will take place at the Garrison Library on 8 February 2023, at 10am. At this Hearing, the Inquiry will provide an update on the data breach, as well as finalising the timetable for disclosure, responsive witness statements, further preliminary hearing(s) and written submissions.

The agenda for the Third Preliminary Hearing is available on the Inquiry’s website.