That is according to Sports Minister Shane Ross, who said the parties affected by Mr Justice Carroll Moran’s report will be afforded an opportunity to respond to the judge “and it is expected that three weeks will be required for that purpose”.
In a written Dáil reply to Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy on the issue, Mr Ross said: “On March 21, the inquiry’s solicitor contacted my officials to say that the judge’s report would be circulated to certain parties on March 31.”
Mr Ross said Mr Justice Moran “may require time to consider any responses from the parties”.
Mr Ross said: “Accordingly, towards the end of April, it is expected that the judge will be in a position to indicate when his final report will be presented to Minister Patrick O’Donovan and to me.
“Subject to consideration of any legal issues that may arise, it is envisaged that the report would be published shortly thereafter.”
The Government has set aside €300,000 to cover all costs relating to the inquiry.
The controversy saw Pat Hickey, the former president of the Olympic Council of Ireland, spend 12 nights at the notorious Bangu prison in Rio de Janeiro before being released and spending “an extremely traumatic few months” in Brazil before his return home to Dublin in December.
On his return, Mr Hickey reiterated his innocence in relation to alleged ticket-touting at the Olympics and said he “will do everything possible to clear my name”.
The Government’s non-statutory State inquiry into the ticketing controversy, set up on September 19, set out to establish the “policies, procedure, processes, and practices” of ticket distribution adopted by the Olympic Council of Ireland, not just in Rio de Janeiro but going back to London 2012, and also including the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014.
The report was expected by November; it was then expected an interim report would be made in December. Justice Moran has since been given until the end of this month to finalise his report.