MINISTER RULES OUT OMAGH BOMB INQUIRY
Minister rules out Omagh bomb inquiry
THE Irish government yesterday ruled out a cross-border inquiry into the Omagh bombing until court proceedings into the atrocity are completed.
South Armagh electrician Sean Hoey is facing charges in relation to the Real IRA massacre in August 1998 which killed 29 people including a woman pregnant with twins.
The Omagh victims group has demanded a probe by the British and Irish governments into the police handling of the bombing.
But the Republic's minister for foreign affairs, Dermot Ahern, yesterday told the families at a 90-minute meeting in Dundalk, Co Louth, that the criminal investigation must take its course before any public inquiries can be considered.
Mr Ahern offered funding from his department to assist the families in running their victims group, however, and said he would appoint an official from his department to liaise with it.
During yesterday's meeting Mr Ahern paid tribute to the families on their seven-year campaign for justice.
The Omagh victims group has already met the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Archbishop Sean Brady, to back their inquiry appeal.
And opposition party leaders in the Republic have criticised the government for failing to publish in full a report it commissioned into Garda intelligence handling at the time of the attack.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan was among those killed in the blast, insisted that the authorities in the Republic should back the families' campaign in the same way they lobbied for a new tribunal into the 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings in Derry.
Speaking after the Dundalk meeting, Mr Ahern said justice must be seen to be done in relation to the Omagh bombing, the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, and in the case of the killing of Co Louth forestry worker Seamus Ludlow in the 1970s.
"It is vital that the truth must come out in all these cases," he said.
"I'm determined to ensure that the full facts of what happened will emerge."
Mr Gallagher said he was disappointed that plans could not be made now for an inquiry to begin when criminal proceedings were completed, but said "at least Mr Ahern hasn't ruled it out in the long term".
THE Irish government yesterday ruled out a cross-border inquiry into the Omagh bombing until court proceedings into the atrocity are completed.
South Armagh electrician Sean Hoey is facing charges in relation to the Real IRA massacre in August 1998 which killed 29 people including a woman pregnant with twins.
The Omagh victims group has demanded a probe by the British and Irish governments into the police handling of the bombing.
But the Republic's minister for foreign affairs, Dermot Ahern, yesterday told the families at a 90-minute meeting in Dundalk, Co Louth, that the criminal investigation must take its course before any public inquiries can be considered.
Mr Ahern offered funding from his department to assist the families in running their victims group, however, and said he would appoint an official from his department to liaise with it.
During yesterday's meeting Mr Ahern paid tribute to the families on their seven-year campaign for justice.
The Omagh victims group has already met the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Archbishop Sean Brady, to back their inquiry appeal.
And opposition party leaders in the Republic have criticised the government for failing to publish in full a report it commissioned into Garda intelligence handling at the time of the attack.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan was among those killed in the blast, insisted that the authorities in the Republic should back the families' campaign in the same way they lobbied for a new tribunal into the 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings in Derry.
Speaking after the Dundalk meeting, Mr Ahern said justice must be seen to be done in relation to the Omagh bombing, the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, and in the case of the killing of Co Louth forestry worker Seamus Ludlow in the 1970s.
"It is vital that the truth must come out in all these cases," he said.
"I'm determined to ensure that the full facts of what happened will emerge."
Mr Gallagher said he was disappointed that plans could not be made now for an inquiry to begin when criminal proceedings were completed, but said "at least Mr Ahern hasn't ruled it out in the long term".
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0760
Published Date: 25-Oct-05
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