The Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward has said he shares the disappointment that the Saville enquiry into the Bloody Sunday killings in Derry will not publish its findings for at least another year.
He also told the House of Commons that the £185m (€220m) cost was 'staggering'.
The last of the 900 witnesses in the tribunal was heard in January 2005.
The enquiry was established in 1998 by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
13 civilians died after paratroopers opened fire during a civil rights demonstration in Derry in January 1972.
Mr Woodward said at Question Time the Saville enquiry formed an essential part of building public confidence in both communities when it was set up.
It was envisaged when it was set up that it would take two years.
It had taken more than ten, he said.
It was thought that it would cost around STG£11m (€13m).
He said the biggest disappointment was felt by the families who were still seeking the truth.
Conservative MP Gerald Howarth described the cost of the enquiry as an 'obscene waste of public money'.
