Call for independent inquiry into Omagh bombing

The British and Irish governments were today urged to establish an international, independent inquiry into the Omagh bombing.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said a fresh inquiry into the atrocity should be based on the model adapted by Canadian judge Peter Cory who examined allegations of collusion in some of the most controversial killings during the Northern Ireland Troubles.

Mr Kenny told the Dáil that such an inquiry should have the power to interview witnesses on both sides of the border about the Real IRA car bomb attack which killed 29 people, including a mother pregnant with twins, in the County Tyrone town in August 1998.

The call was made during a Dáil debate on the Nally Report which cleared garda officers of allegations that they failed to pass on information to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which could have prevented the attack.

Relatives of the bereaved have criticised the Government for not providing them with copies of the report but Justice Minister Michael McDowell said he could not publish it due to concerns about national security.

He said he understood the desire of the families to obtain as much information as possible, but insisted his primary responsibility was to prevent another such attack.

“It is simply not a sustainable proposition that the victims of crime have a right to all information irrespective of its implications for national security, the rule of law and the rights of others,” he said.

“This state and the people of this island, north and south, remain locked in a life and death struggle with the murderous group which perpetrated the Omagh slaughter.

“They have been thwarted since Omagh in barbarous plans to carry out bombings of the same scale and ferocity.

“They plan to strike again. My first duty is to prevent them. And I will not help them by sacrificing security in a short term gesture of compassionate transparency.”

Mr McDowell said he was willing to meet the families again to discuss the report in general terms and insisted the police investigation into the bombing was still ongoing.

“I have been assured by the Garda Commissioner that he and his force, in co-operation with their colleagues in the Police Service in Northern Ireland, remain determined to take every step open to them to bring the perpetrators to justice,” he added.