British may speak to bombing commission
The sole member, Patrick McEntee SC, informed the Government that on January 11, a number of entities indicated a willingness to meet with the commission to discuss certain matters relevant to its terms of reference.
Mr McEntee submitted an interim report to the Government - which was discussed by Cabinet yesterday - in which he said that the development was an important one that should be thoroughly investigated.
“The commission is satisfied that, were it to decline to accept this offer of co-operation, a significant opportunity to advance this investigation would be lost,” he said.
Neither Mr McEntee nor Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was prepared to identify the entities who indicated a willingness to meet with the commission.
However, Judge Henry Barron’s previous investigation into the bombings, which claimed 33 lives, was hindered by the refusal of the security services in the North and in Britain, and the British authorities, to co-operate with his investigation.
Judge Barron severely criticised the refusals, saying it was impossible to arrive at any definitive conclusion of fact in the absence of co-operation.
Speaking in the Dáil yesterday, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said that Mr McEntee wrote to him earlier this month seeking an extension “in order to pursue a possible new line of investigation that had recently arisen”.
The original time frame for the completion of the report was January 21. Mr Ahern said yesterday he had agreed to extend the deadline to February 28.
In his interim report, Mr McEntee stated that its investigative work was at an advanced stage and nearing its conclusion.
It had, he said, “heard evidence from a significant number of persons within this jurisdiction. These persons have also disclosed a variety of relevant documentation and information”.
Mr Ahern told TDs that €925,000 has been spent so far on the commission and that its final costs were likely to be in the region of €1.125 million.
Loyalists were responsible for the attacks in Dublin and Monaghan on the same day in 1974. It has long been suspected that elements of the security services in the North colluded with the bombers.
