With the appointment of both a new Stormont first minister and a DUP leader just weeks away, it is important that Peter Robinson addresses a number of issues before moving to his retirement.
Among the most significant is the formal complaint taken against him by the leading Belfast businessman Peter Curistan, which has now been referred on to the Metropolitan police by the PSNI.
Mr Curistan was the central influence behind the development of the city's Odyssey complex and has always been regarded in financial circles as a respected and effective figure
It came as a bolt from the blue when Mr Robinson used Westminster parliamentary privilege to link Mr Curiston, who happens to come from a nationalist background in west Belfast, to `IRA dirty money' in 2006.
No evidence of any kind was produced to support the allegation, and the position became even more serious when the DUP subsequently promoted Mr Robinson to hold the most senior post in our devolved administration.
The consequences for Mr Curiston at all levels were predictably wide-ranging, as he set out in detail during an Irish News interview two months ago, and his legal response, based on his belief that Mr Robinson displayed `misfeasance in public office', is reaching a definitive stage.
However, rather than forcing the case to be resolved by the police or ultimately the courts, there is an opportunity for Mr Robinson to display leadership and bring it to an agreed conclusion in the best interests of the entire community.
Both the DUP in general and Mr Robinson in particular displayed huge anger earlier this year when the loyalist campaigner Jamie Bryson also used the equivalent of parliamentary privilege, at the Assembly's finance committee, to make high-profile and hotly contested assertions over their perceived links to the Nama scandal.
The standing of the DUP would be greatly enhanced if the party made it clear that, as a result, it no longer agreed with the tabling of unsubstantiated claims through such platforms.
It would then have the option of attempting to put forward a factual basis for Mr Robinson's attack on Mr Curiston or simply withdrawing the previous statements made by its outgoing leader in the House of Commons.
If the DUP does not act, it risks adding to the major and enduring concerns caused by the blatantly false parliamentary comments made by the late Ian Paisley about the Reavey family who were the victims of an appalling sectarian atrocity in south Armagh in 1976
It is believed that Mr Paisley came close to setting the record straight in his later life, but he first retired and then after a period of ill health died last year with the shocking slur still officially left in place.
Mr Robinson could make a notable contribution towards the reconciliation process before he departs the political stage and it must be hoped that he does not allow the chance to slip away.
