CONCERN AS GARDAI PRESENT AT MEETING
Concern as gardai present at meeting
By Valerie Robinson
TWO senior gardai become embroiled in a political storm yesterday after they accompanied the PSNI chief constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan in a meeting with relatives of the Omagh bomb victims.
Assistant Commissioner Kevin Carty and Detective Superintendent Tadhg Foley travelled to Omagh to brief the families on the garda investigation into the 1998 bomb attack.
Gardai received a massive boost this week when Dundalk man Colm Murphy became the first person to be convicted in connection with the blast which killed 29 people and two unborn baby girls.
But the two senior officers were criticised for their decision to be present when the chief constable gave relatives his response to Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan's critical report on the RUC investigation into the Real IRA attack.
It also emerged that officials who handle Northern Ireland issues for the Republic's Department of Foreign Affairs viewed the garda visit yesterday as ill-timed.
A foreign affairs spokesman last night refused to comment on the garda presence at the long-awaited Omagh meeting, saying it was a matter for the force itself and the department of justice.
But officials are understood to have spoken with Nuala O'Loan after they received confirmation of the garda visit late on Wednesday evening.
Sources revealed that the worried officials, who have backed Ms O'Loan's findings in relation to the Omagh investigation, moved to assure the ombudsman that her office still had the full support of the Irish government.
The Department of Justice however defended the two gardai but insisted that it would not be "drawn into" the row between Ms O'Loan and the PSNI chief constable.
A spokesman said that Det Supt Foley and Asst Commissioner Carty had travelled to Omagh "solely and exclusively to give a briefing to the families on the garda elements of the Omagh investigation in this jurisdiction".
Justice Minister John O'Donoghue was abroad yesterday but a spokesman confirmed that his department had been informed of the garda plans.
And Gardai also defended two of the force's most senior officers at a meeting which marked the growing chasm between the PSNI and Ms O'Loan.
Superintendent John Farrelly said the officers had not intended to become involved in political controversy.
He said: "They are focusing on the investigation. It is appropriate that we should deal with those issues with the other people involved in the investigation.
"It is not a political issue. There is no right or wrong setting for a meeting like this."
The garda spokesman added that members of the force was in "almost daily" contact with their Northern Ireland counterparts in relation to the joint efforts to bring the Omagh bombers before the courts.
But Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan criticised the gardai presence at the Omagh meeting.
Mr Noonan said there was a danger of the controversy surrounding Ms O'Loan's report and yesterday's meeting taking the "focus" away from the bombers.
He added that gardai were in danger of becoming involved in
Northern Ireland's "highly sensitive" political situation.
By Valerie Robinson
TWO senior gardai become embroiled in a political storm yesterday after they accompanied the PSNI chief constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan in a meeting with relatives of the Omagh bomb victims.
Assistant Commissioner Kevin Carty and Detective Superintendent Tadhg Foley travelled to Omagh to brief the families on the garda investigation into the 1998 bomb attack.
Gardai received a massive boost this week when Dundalk man Colm Murphy became the first person to be convicted in connection with the blast which killed 29 people and two unborn baby girls.
But the two senior officers were criticised for their decision to be present when the chief constable gave relatives his response to Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan's critical report on the RUC investigation into the Real IRA attack.
It also emerged that officials who handle Northern Ireland issues for the Republic's Department of Foreign Affairs viewed the garda visit yesterday as ill-timed.
A foreign affairs spokesman last night refused to comment on the garda presence at the long-awaited Omagh meeting, saying it was a matter for the force itself and the department of justice.
But officials are understood to have spoken with Nuala O'Loan after they received confirmation of the garda visit late on Wednesday evening.
Sources revealed that the worried officials, who have backed Ms O'Loan's findings in relation to the Omagh investigation, moved to assure the ombudsman that her office still had the full support of the Irish government.
The Department of Justice however defended the two gardai but insisted that it would not be "drawn into" the row between Ms O'Loan and the PSNI chief constable.
A spokesman said that Det Supt Foley and Asst Commissioner Carty had travelled to Omagh "solely and exclusively to give a briefing to the families on the garda elements of the Omagh investigation in this jurisdiction".
Justice Minister John O'Donoghue was abroad yesterday but a spokesman confirmed that his department had been informed of the garda plans.
And Gardai also defended two of the force's most senior officers at a meeting which marked the growing chasm between the PSNI and Ms O'Loan.
Superintendent John Farrelly said the officers had not intended to become involved in political controversy.
He said: "They are focusing on the investigation. It is appropriate that we should deal with those issues with the other people involved in the investigation.
"It is not a political issue. There is no right or wrong setting for a meeting like this."
The garda spokesman added that members of the force was in "almost daily" contact with their Northern Ireland counterparts in relation to the joint efforts to bring the Omagh bombers before the courts.
But Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan criticised the gardai presence at the Omagh meeting.
Mr Noonan said there was a danger of the controversy surrounding Ms O'Loan's report and yesterday's meeting taking the "focus" away from the bombers.
He added that gardai were in danger of becoming involved in
Northern Ireland's "highly sensitive" political situation.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0531
Published Date: 25-Jan-02
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