Former Alliance leader and member of the House of Lords John Alderdice has questioned whether the Charity Commission in Northern Ireland is fit for purpose in comments regarding a recent report which raises serious concerns about the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
Last week, RTÉ News revealed that it had sight of parts of the report which criticises the church's handling of discipline, pastoral care, internal governance and compliance with its obligations as a registered charity.
Mr Alderdice, who led an investigation into the PCI submitted the document to charity regulators in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland three years ago.
Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback programme, he questioned whether the Charity Commission in Northern Ireland was fit for purpose.
"The fact that three years on, they're not even able to say we're taking this sufficiently seriously to set up an inquiry.
"Not that we're still reading bits or we're exploring or some other weasel words, but we're actually setting up an inquiry to see if there's a basis for that and three years on, we don't even have that."
Last week, a spokesperson for the Charity Commission of Northern Ireland told RTÉ News that the case involved complex information, which had delayed progress, but efforts are ongoing to move it forward in the coming months.
She added that no further details would be released for confidentiality reasons.
The Commission confirmed to BBC Ulster that it had not posed any questions to the Presbyterian Church which led Mr Alderdice to state that at this point his complaint went "beyond" the PCI.
He said he wanted to see the church return to the standards that were in existence when he was growing up.
"Particularly the standards of pastoral care and a sense amongst the public that this was an institution that was solid and could be trusted and so on, and the sense I have is that that has been lost, I hope temporarily. But that's the purpose of speaking about these things," he said.
Co-author of the dossier, former Presbyterian minister Roy Simpson, told the same programme that the document included interviews with 12 people.
However, Mr Alderdice pointed out that many people are fearful in involving themselves in the investigation.
It alleges a pattern of bullying, intimidation, and misuse of power by senior officials, with some ministers and elders disciplined or forced out for holding more inclusive views.
Read more: Concerns raised over discipline, governance in Presbyterian Church
Mr Simpson said the findings were "only really the tip of the iceberg".
"There seems to be a pattern of behaviour from a small number of officials in the Presbyterian Church and unfortunately the same people, the same perpetrators, crop up again and again," he said.
A spokesperson for the Prebyterian Church said "While we are aware that a document has been submitted to the Charity Commission of Northern Ireland. Like the Charity Commission of Northern Ireland, as a rule we do not comment on such matters."
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is a registered charity both jurisdictions, which means it receives public funding and tax relief.
Unlike some other denominations, the PCI treats each of its hundreds of congregations as separate legal entities, which has raised concerns about whether local leaders are adequately trained for their legal responsibilities.
The Charities Regulator in the Republic of Ireland told RTÉ News that it did not comment on individual charities and couldn't be of assistance on the matter.
The PCI which serves the whole of Ireland has over 540 congregations in 19 Presbyteries with just under 230,000 members.
The majority of the congregations are based in Northern Ireland.
In the Republic of Ireland the majority are to be found in the border counties of Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan and in and around the Dublin city area.
Last year, a purpose-built Presbyterian Church officially opened in Co Kildare to accommodate one of its youngest congregations.
It was the first time a new congregation has opened its own purpose-built building since the Irish Free State was established.
