Democracy denied

OMAGH bomb victim Michael Gallagher, following the recent meeting with Justice Minister Michael McDowell, said the minister “would not be drawn on the subject of the McNally Report”. This should send a chill down the spine of every advocate of free speech.

The recent hatchet job on the Freedom of Information Act has ensured little will be gleaned from State files to assist the people of Omagh in their quest for truth and justice.!

With the publication of Judge Barron's report into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings supposedly due soon, a number of the survivors, myself included, are not particularly hopeful the Government will honour its promise to publish the report in full.

It appears that the survivors like the Laffoy Commission survivors, the hepatitis C survivors, the family of Bridget Cole, Donal de Róiste and his family, and many others will be denied a transparent and honest process that will allow us to put our lives back in order. We are being denied the chance of getting on with our lives because anonymous men in plush offices have decided they know what's best for us.

Edward O'Neill,

156, St Attracta Road,

Cabra,

Dublin 7.