TC/1686

New funding for Omagh bereaved in civil action against suspects

RELATIVES of the Omagh bomb victims hope fresh legal action in connection with the 1998 atrocity will begin within weeks, following
confirmation that their legal costs will be met.
The Lord Chancellor confirmed on Monday that the families would receive £800,000 needed to cover legal costs for a civil action against five men.
Despite a successful fundraising campaign by the Omagh Victims' Support and Self Help Group, the relatives fell short of the £1.5m required to bring the case until the government stepped in.
Relatives will now be able to pursue their claim for £10m in damages against a group of suspects, which includes jailed Real IRA leader, Michael McKevitt.
The cash is being released under the Northern Ireland 'Access to Justice' Order and will be administered by legal firm, H20.
Funding was initially pledged by victims' Minister, Jane Kennedy, and Lord Filken, Minister for Constitutional Affairs just before the fifth anniversary of the bomb.
Lord Filken said the Government had decided to support the "exceptional case" of the relatives' civil action through legal aid because ministers believed the collapse of the case was not in the interests of justice.
Mr Michael Gallagher, whose 21 year old son, Aidan, was among the 29 people, including unborn twins, killed in the Real IRA, bombing, said he hoped the case would be heard "as soon as possible".
"The families have waited a long time for this case to come to court, and it has been very stressful," he said.
"It was a relief when the British government did offer to fill the gap in legal fees, but that was last August and there has been no progress since then.
"Hopefully, all the hurdles have been overcome and the case can move forward. The sooner this happens, the better, for the sake of the families," he said.
In 2002, solicitors acting for the Omagh Victims' Civil Action Group, served writs on McKevitt, Liam Campbell and Colm Murphy in Portlaoise jail.
Two other people, Seamus Daly and Seamus McKenna, were also served writs.
In January 2002, father of four Colm Murphy became the only person to be convicted in connection with the Omagh bomb.
The Special Criminal Court in Dublin sentenced the Dundalk-based businessman to 14 years in jail.