OMAGH FAMILIES MAKE CALL FOR A FRESH INQUIRY
Omagh families make call for a fresh inquiry
By Valerie Robinson
Southern Correspondent
RELATIVES of those killed in the Omagh bombing last night called for a new independent inquiry into allegations that gardai withheld information from their counterparts in Northern Ireland prior to the Real IRA attack in 1998.
The families made the call after Justice Minister Michael McDowell revealed that the Nally report found there was no evidence of impropriety on the part of gardai.
In a statement to the Dail the minister also said that the long-awaited report would not be made public.
It had been claimed that days before the Omagh bombing, an informant to the Garda Special Branch had passed on information about a car stolen by dissident republicans to his handler - Dublin-based garda.
A suspended officer told Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan that gardai failed to relay the intelligence to the RUC, even though the informer had stolen cars previously used in dissident republican operations.
The allegations were made by a suspended Garda officer to Nuala O'Loan.
A three-man team, led by senior civil servant Dermot Nally was appointed by the Irish government to investigate the claims.
The team was also asked to investigate a suggestion that the government formed a ceasefire pact with the Real IRA after the bombing, interfering in the judicial process.
Mr McDowell last night said that the group had found there was "no foundation" for the allegations which it examined.
Mr McDowell also said that his decision not to publish the report was based on concerns that it contained information which "would be of use only to paramilitary terrorists in waging their campaign".
Spokesman for the relatives, Stanley McCombe, last night rejected the findings of the Nally report, saying that he was "very disappointed but not surprised"by the minister's statement.
He said that relatives would only be satisfied with the findings of an investigation team that was independent of the Irish state.
"We need to take this to Europe. The state was basically investigating itself. There was never going to be a satisfactory answer. We have no faith in the justice minister or any minister in the Republic. It is a closed shop," he said.
Meanwhile, Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said the justice minister's decision not to publish the report would cause "great distress and anxiety" to the Omagh families.
He called on the Irish government to lend their support to the relatives' civil action against the bomb suspects, adding: "The minister and the government must make up their minds on a fundamental question.
"Are they willing to lend their full support to the civil case?
"What assistance can the government offer to the Omagh victims and their families in circumstances where all right-thinking citizens want to support and assist them -as has already been done to some extent by the British government?"
By Valerie Robinson
Southern Correspondent
RELATIVES of those killed in the Omagh bombing last night called for a new independent inquiry into allegations that gardai withheld information from their counterparts in Northern Ireland prior to the Real IRA attack in 1998.
The families made the call after Justice Minister Michael McDowell revealed that the Nally report found there was no evidence of impropriety on the part of gardai.
In a statement to the Dail the minister also said that the long-awaited report would not be made public.
It had been claimed that days before the Omagh bombing, an informant to the Garda Special Branch had passed on information about a car stolen by dissident republicans to his handler - Dublin-based garda.
A suspended officer told Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan that gardai failed to relay the intelligence to the RUC, even though the informer had stolen cars previously used in dissident republican operations.
The allegations were made by a suspended Garda officer to Nuala O'Loan.
A three-man team, led by senior civil servant Dermot Nally was appointed by the Irish government to investigate the claims.
The team was also asked to investigate a suggestion that the government formed a ceasefire pact with the Real IRA after the bombing, interfering in the judicial process.
Mr McDowell last night said that the group had found there was "no foundation" for the allegations which it examined.
Mr McDowell also said that his decision not to publish the report was based on concerns that it contained information which "would be of use only to paramilitary terrorists in waging their campaign".
Spokesman for the relatives, Stanley McCombe, last night rejected the findings of the Nally report, saying that he was "very disappointed but not surprised"by the minister's statement.
He said that relatives would only be satisfied with the findings of an investigation team that was independent of the Irish state.
"We need to take this to Europe. The state was basically investigating itself. There was never going to be a satisfactory answer. We have no faith in the justice minister or any minister in the Republic. It is a closed shop," he said.
Meanwhile, Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said the justice minister's decision not to publish the report would cause "great distress and anxiety" to the Omagh families.
He called on the Irish government to lend their support to the relatives' civil action against the bomb suspects, adding: "The minister and the government must make up their minds on a fundamental question.
"Are they willing to lend their full support to the civil case?
"What assistance can the government offer to the Omagh victims and their families in circumstances where all right-thinking citizens want to support and assist them -as has already been done to some extent by the British government?"
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0616
Published Date: 17-Dec-03
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