Government rejects Real IRA claims

The Government tonight rejected new claims of a deal with Real IRA terrorists responsible for the Omagh outrage in a bid for a ceasefire by the paramilitary group.

Foreign Minister Brian Cowen said was a “ludicrous contention” that the Government had offered any concessions to the Real IRA in return for a ceasefire soon after the blast in the Co Tyrone town, when 29 people were killed and more than 200 injured.

Earlier the leaders of of Fine Gael and Labour had called for a full statement from Taoiseach Bertie Ahern on the latest reports of contact with the Real IRA.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said it was incumbent on the Ahern to explain – particularly on the issue of whether his government offered any concessions to the Real IRA after the Omagh attack.

And Labour chief Pat Rabbitte said the survivors and relatives of those who died at Omagh were entitled to an explanation from Mr Ahern.

He also pointed out that the alleged events had taken place at a time when the Government had been recalled to enact an amendment to anti-terrorist laws in response to what had happened at Omagh.

The reports said that Martin Mansergh, then Mr Ahern’s special advisor on Northern Ireland, approached a Roman Catholic priest to act as a conduit between the government and the leadership of the Real IRA.

It was also claimed that a Real IRA army council meeting was held the following day, a ceasefire was announced and subsequently round-the-clock police surveillance was lifted.

The latest reports follow claims made on Channel 4 TV News during a programme dealing with the Omagh incident last week that the Government struck a deal with the Real IRA to get a ceasefire.

A briefing document from a currently suspended Irish police detective sergeant, who acted as the intermediary with an informer, told of the claimed arrangement “with a government minister,” declaring that “in return for calling a ceasefire, no RIRA members would be harassed or receive undue Garda attention“.

The TV programme also said they had seen documents showing that charges against people arrested after Omagh were “dropped on the orders of the state, without explanations.”

The deal was also claimed to have been confirmed by the informer involved in a covert tape recording made in a car.

The Government strenuously denied claims of a ceasefire deal last week.

A spokesman said there was “absolutely and utterly no foundation” to the allegations, and Justice Minister Michael McDowell dismissed the suggestion as “fantasy“.

And it was also pointed out in official Dublin circles that one person had been convicted and sentenced in the Republic in connection with the Omagh bombing, that 30 Real IRA personnel were currently serving jail terms and that files were with the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to a number of other members of that organisation.

Today, though, Mr Kenny said: “As there is confusion about that, and as the matter is so sensitive, I feel the Taoiseach should issue a full clarifying statement as the whether or not these contacts ever took place.”