LEGAL AID FOR INQUEST FAMILIES
Legal Aid for inquest families
By Olga Bradshaw
THE families of those killed in the Omagh bombing of August 1998 will be entitled to Legal Aid for the inquest, which is scheduled to start on September 6. It is the first time in Northern Ireland that relatives have been entitled to Legal Aid for an inquest.
And the Tyrone Constitution has learned that the inquest will be the most high tech hearing of its kind anywhere in Britain or Ireland.
Many of the computerised and virtual reality techniques being used at the Bloody Sunday Inquiry in Londonderry will be deployed in Omagh.
The inquest is expected to last three or four weeks. It will be held in the minor hall at Omagh Leisure Centre.
Much of the documentary evidence has been transferred onto computer systems, which can then be more easily assessed by those at the hearing.
Such is the worldwide interest in the inquest, the minor hall is not expected to be able to hold all those in attendance, particularly from the media.
There will be audio-visual links from the hall to marquees in the grounds of the leisure complex.
The Lord Chancellor's department made the announcement of the legal funding on Tuesday, and it prompted the chairman of Omagh Self-Help and Support Group to appeal for parity of esteem when allocating legal aid to bereaved families.
Mr. Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son, Adrian, was one of those killed when the 5OOlb car bomb exploded in Market Street, said that while he welcomed the helping hand which had been extended from the Lord Chancellor's Department, there were a small number of families who would not qualify for financial help.
In a letter to Mr. Gallagher last week an official from the Lord Chancellor's Department in London said that the Government had decided that the circumstances in relation to the Omagh explosion were so exceptional that it would be appropriate for public funding to be made available for legal representation to the inquests. However, it only extended to families who would qualify for legal aid.
The letter explained that legal aid was not available to allow for legal representation in proceedings before coroners in Northern Ireland, where as it could be granted in exceptional one-off cases in England and Wales.
However, the official said it had been decided to establish an extra statutory ex gratia scheme which would enable funding in this instance.
Mr. Gallagher said the inquests would be a difficult and painful time for all those involved, and while there were some who might want legal representation, the cost of having it would be so prohibitive it would not be possible for them.
Mr. Gallagher said that he had spoken to one family that would not be able to make the sacrifice in terms of travelling to Omagh and having to subsidise their business, simply because they would not qualify for legal aid.
'This would be the case for other families and for people to go into a court setting and represent themselves that could be an intimidating experience," he said.
'This is an expense directly arising out of August 15, and is an expense that should not be put on the families. We see it as the same as a funeral expense, and as such, a necessary expenditure that was incurred through no fault of the families.
"While we welcome the Government's change of heart on this, everyone should be treated equally," Mr. Gallagher said. Mr. Gallagher said that a meeting was held some time ago with the coroner, and this was one of the points that the group raised as it was unfair to those who would not get legal representation.
The chairman of the self-help group said that contact was also made with officials from the Northern Ireland Office, to whom they also put their views.
"I believe that it was as a result of bringing the situation to the attention of the authorities that they had a change of heart, but we feel they should extend legal aid to the families who would not normally qualify.
"The granting of legal aid is a move in the right direction, but it is not enough. We also have to consider the families from Buncrana and Madrid. The group has always insisted that they are treated with parity of esteem," he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Gallagher and other members of the group are hoping that the inquests into the deaths of the 29 men, women and children, and the Monaghan twins, who were just weeks from being born, will not degenerate into a media circus.
He said that while many families were keen that the world know what happened to their loved ones, he expressed hope that those who had already shown an interest in the inquests would treat the bereaved with dignity and act with dignity themselves.
To commemorate the second anniversary of the bombing a small prayer service will be held at the new garden of remembrance on Tuesday August 15, at 3.10pm.
The existing garden has to be moved to allow for building work to continue in the Market Street area, and new temporary Garden is to be created near the First World War Memorial of Drumragh Avenue.
A Short Prayer service will take place at 3.10pm, at which it is expected that the chairman of Omagh District Council and others will lay wreaths.
The prayers will be led by the members of the Omagh Church Forum.
By Olga Bradshaw
THE families of those killed in the Omagh bombing of August 1998 will be entitled to Legal Aid for the inquest, which is scheduled to start on September 6. It is the first time in Northern Ireland that relatives have been entitled to Legal Aid for an inquest.
And the Tyrone Constitution has learned that the inquest will be the most high tech hearing of its kind anywhere in Britain or Ireland.
Many of the computerised and virtual reality techniques being used at the Bloody Sunday Inquiry in Londonderry will be deployed in Omagh.
The inquest is expected to last three or four weeks. It will be held in the minor hall at Omagh Leisure Centre.
Much of the documentary evidence has been transferred onto computer systems, which can then be more easily assessed by those at the hearing.
Such is the worldwide interest in the inquest, the minor hall is not expected to be able to hold all those in attendance, particularly from the media.
There will be audio-visual links from the hall to marquees in the grounds of the leisure complex.
The Lord Chancellor's department made the announcement of the legal funding on Tuesday, and it prompted the chairman of Omagh Self-Help and Support Group to appeal for parity of esteem when allocating legal aid to bereaved families.
Mr. Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son, Adrian, was one of those killed when the 5OOlb car bomb exploded in Market Street, said that while he welcomed the helping hand which had been extended from the Lord Chancellor's Department, there were a small number of families who would not qualify for financial help.
In a letter to Mr. Gallagher last week an official from the Lord Chancellor's Department in London said that the Government had decided that the circumstances in relation to the Omagh explosion were so exceptional that it would be appropriate for public funding to be made available for legal representation to the inquests. However, it only extended to families who would qualify for legal aid.
The letter explained that legal aid was not available to allow for legal representation in proceedings before coroners in Northern Ireland, where as it could be granted in exceptional one-off cases in England and Wales.
However, the official said it had been decided to establish an extra statutory ex gratia scheme which would enable funding in this instance.
Mr. Gallagher said the inquests would be a difficult and painful time for all those involved, and while there were some who might want legal representation, the cost of having it would be so prohibitive it would not be possible for them.
Mr. Gallagher said that he had spoken to one family that would not be able to make the sacrifice in terms of travelling to Omagh and having to subsidise their business, simply because they would not qualify for legal aid.
'This would be the case for other families and for people to go into a court setting and represent themselves that could be an intimidating experience," he said.
'This is an expense directly arising out of August 15, and is an expense that should not be put on the families. We see it as the same as a funeral expense, and as such, a necessary expenditure that was incurred through no fault of the families.
"While we welcome the Government's change of heart on this, everyone should be treated equally," Mr. Gallagher said. Mr. Gallagher said that a meeting was held some time ago with the coroner, and this was one of the points that the group raised as it was unfair to those who would not get legal representation.
The chairman of the self-help group said that contact was also made with officials from the Northern Ireland Office, to whom they also put their views.
"I believe that it was as a result of bringing the situation to the attention of the authorities that they had a change of heart, but we feel they should extend legal aid to the families who would not normally qualify.
"The granting of legal aid is a move in the right direction, but it is not enough. We also have to consider the families from Buncrana and Madrid. The group has always insisted that they are treated with parity of esteem," he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Gallagher and other members of the group are hoping that the inquests into the deaths of the 29 men, women and children, and the Monaghan twins, who were just weeks from being born, will not degenerate into a media circus.
He said that while many families were keen that the world know what happened to their loved ones, he expressed hope that those who had already shown an interest in the inquests would treat the bereaved with dignity and act with dignity themselves.
To commemorate the second anniversary of the bombing a small prayer service will be held at the new garden of remembrance on Tuesday August 15, at 3.10pm.
The existing garden has to be moved to allow for building work to continue in the Market Street area, and new temporary Garden is to be created near the First World War Memorial of Drumragh Avenue.
A Short Prayer service will take place at 3.10pm, at which it is expected that the chairman of Omagh District Council and others will lay wreaths.
The prayers will be led by the members of the Omagh Church Forum.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1461
Published Date: 27-Jul-00
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