OMAGH PROBE SECRECY ANGERS FAMILIES
Omagh probe secrecy angers families
BY ADRIAN MULLAN
THE Irish government has shrouded, in a veil of secrecy, the findings of an investigation into claims that the Garda knew about Real-IRA plans to bomb Omagh but didn't pass them on.
The Republic's Justice Department set-up an investigation into claims made by a Garda Sergeant, John White, following a recommendation from the Policing Ombudsman in Northern Ireland, Nuala O'Loan.
White, made a long and in-depth statement to Mrs O'Loan in December 2001 and on the basis of that statement, Mrs O'Loan's office pushed for an investigation. The Department of Justice subsequently set up the 'Nally' investigation which concluded its investigation a matter of weeks ago.
However, though the families of those killed in the Omagh bombing and interested parties have been striving to learn something of the contents of the Nally report, the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, has steadfastly refused to publish or reveal any of the report's contents until after he addresses the Dail, sometime after it reconvenes on September 30.
A spokesperson for the Minister said that no one other than the Minister of Justice and those who compiled the report have seen its contents - perhaps not even the Taoiseach or other members of government.
"The Minister will make a statement on the report as soon as possible after the Dail returns.The Minister told the families he would meet them again after he had made his statement but he had asked them not to pre-judge what he was going to say."
The Minister's Office refused to offer some indication as to the overall impressions of the report, "We are saying absolutely nothing, we have issued a press statement to the effect that the Minister won't reveal any details in advance of his statement to the Dail."
The Minister's spokesman was unable to say whether or not the Minister had already prepared his statement for the Dail. "I do know that he received the Nally report sometime during the summer and spent some time considering it and that he will be making a statement in due course. The report was submitted by the three party group to the Minister. I don't know if it has been forwarded [to other Ministers] but it certainly hasn't gone any further than that, that's my understanding of it he has been quite clear and insistent that in advance of his statement to the Dail he is not in a position to discuss it with anybody."
A spokesman for the Police Ombudsman's Office in Belfast, said that Mrs O'Loan had not seen the inquiry report, despite the fact that it was instituted at her request.
A group of Omagh people bereaved in the bomb, met with the Minister for some two and a half hours at the beginning of the week but he refused to discuss the report with them other than to say that it contained intelligence on the Real IRA and that putting it in the public domain would somehow weaken ongoing Gardai investigations.
Speaking after the meeting, Michael Gallagher spoke of the relatives' disappointment at the Minister's stance. He said that he believed that the report contained information which would cause difficulties for and embarrassment to the government. Nevertheless, he stressed that the families who had suffered as a result of the bombing had a right to know what the report contained before politicians "who have not shed a drop of blood."
A spokesman for the Ombudsman's office said that the Ombudsman had not received a copy and was not expecting a copy of the 'Nally' report and said that other than conversations with the Justice Department at the time of the handing over of details in respect of Garda White's allegations there had been no contact with the Department of Justice since. In respect of calls by the Omagh families for the Ombudsman to investigate the Gardai dimension of the Omagh bomb inquiry, a spokesman for Mrs O'Loan said that such an investigation at present would be beyond the remit and resources of that office. However, he stressed that if both the British and Irish governments wanted such an investigation to happen and made the necessary legislative changes, for this specific case, the Ombudsman's Office would be happy to comply.
The allegations by Garda White took on a particular significance in the light of the fact that the Police Ombudsman's investigation into the conduct of the police inquiry into the Omagh bombing revealed that the RUC had received a tip-off about an impending attack on Omagh but failed to act or to warn the people of Omagh.
BY ADRIAN MULLAN
THE Irish government has shrouded, in a veil of secrecy, the findings of an investigation into claims that the Garda knew about Real-IRA plans to bomb Omagh but didn't pass them on.
The Republic's Justice Department set-up an investigation into claims made by a Garda Sergeant, John White, following a recommendation from the Policing Ombudsman in Northern Ireland, Nuala O'Loan.
White, made a long and in-depth statement to Mrs O'Loan in December 2001 and on the basis of that statement, Mrs O'Loan's office pushed for an investigation. The Department of Justice subsequently set up the 'Nally' investigation which concluded its investigation a matter of weeks ago.
However, though the families of those killed in the Omagh bombing and interested parties have been striving to learn something of the contents of the Nally report, the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, has steadfastly refused to publish or reveal any of the report's contents until after he addresses the Dail, sometime after it reconvenes on September 30.
A spokesperson for the Minister said that no one other than the Minister of Justice and those who compiled the report have seen its contents - perhaps not even the Taoiseach or other members of government.
"The Minister will make a statement on the report as soon as possible after the Dail returns.The Minister told the families he would meet them again after he had made his statement but he had asked them not to pre-judge what he was going to say."
The Minister's Office refused to offer some indication as to the overall impressions of the report, "We are saying absolutely nothing, we have issued a press statement to the effect that the Minister won't reveal any details in advance of his statement to the Dail."
The Minister's spokesman was unable to say whether or not the Minister had already prepared his statement for the Dail. "I do know that he received the Nally report sometime during the summer and spent some time considering it and that he will be making a statement in due course. The report was submitted by the three party group to the Minister. I don't know if it has been forwarded [to other Ministers] but it certainly hasn't gone any further than that, that's my understanding of it he has been quite clear and insistent that in advance of his statement to the Dail he is not in a position to discuss it with anybody."
A spokesman for the Police Ombudsman's Office in Belfast, said that Mrs O'Loan had not seen the inquiry report, despite the fact that it was instituted at her request.
A group of Omagh people bereaved in the bomb, met with the Minister for some two and a half hours at the beginning of the week but he refused to discuss the report with them other than to say that it contained intelligence on the Real IRA and that putting it in the public domain would somehow weaken ongoing Gardai investigations.
Speaking after the meeting, Michael Gallagher spoke of the relatives' disappointment at the Minister's stance. He said that he believed that the report contained information which would cause difficulties for and embarrassment to the government. Nevertheless, he stressed that the families who had suffered as a result of the bombing had a right to know what the report contained before politicians "who have not shed a drop of blood."
A spokesman for the Ombudsman's office said that the Ombudsman had not received a copy and was not expecting a copy of the 'Nally' report and said that other than conversations with the Justice Department at the time of the handing over of details in respect of Garda White's allegations there had been no contact with the Department of Justice since. In respect of calls by the Omagh families for the Ombudsman to investigate the Gardai dimension of the Omagh bomb inquiry, a spokesman for Mrs O'Loan said that such an investigation at present would be beyond the remit and resources of that office. However, he stressed that if both the British and Irish governments wanted such an investigation to happen and made the necessary legislative changes, for this specific case, the Ombudsman's Office would be happy to comply.
The allegations by Garda White took on a particular significance in the light of the fact that the Police Ombudsman's investigation into the conduct of the police inquiry into the Omagh bombing revealed that the RUC had received a tip-off about an impending attack on Omagh but failed to act or to warn the people of Omagh.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1610
Published Date: 11-Sep-03
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