Ireland to assist Omagh inquiry to 'greatest extent possible'
Injured Blast Killed 200 And Omagh People And 29 The Bomb Two Unborn Children People Other
Justice Minister Helen McEntee is fully committed to assisting the UK Omagh Bombing Inquiry to the “greatest extent possible”, the Department of Justice has said.
In a statement, the department said the minister, and the Government, are anxious to ensure that by the end of the UK inquiry that there are “no unanswered questions” that “can only be examined” on this side of the border.
The statement was silent on the establishment of a parallel inquiry in Ireland, which follows comments from Tánaiste Micheál Martin that having two inquiries “doesn’t make sense”.
Announcing the terms of reference of the UK inquiry, the Northern Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris called on the Irish Government to set out its own position.
“I urge the Irish Government to now explain what consideration it has given to the setting up of an investigation in Ireland to discharge its obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, in line with the clear direction of the High Court," Mr Heaton-Harris said.
In 2021, the High Court in Belfast ruled that it was plausible there was a real prospect the August 1998 bombing could have been stopped.
The atrocity, carried out by the Real IRA, killed 29 people and two unborn children and injured 200 other people.
The Belfast court ruled that the bombing could arguably have been thwarted if police had received all available intelligence and called for new investigations on both sides of the Irish border.
Mr Heaton-Harris said the inquiry chair, Scottish supreme court judge, Alan Thurnbull, would now undertake a “setting up exercise” and that the judge would announce further details when ready.
In a statement, the Department of Justice said Minister McEntee welcomed the publication of the terms of reference which, it said, “brings more clarity” as regards the nature of the inquiry.
“The Minister is fully committed to assisting the UK Inquiry to the greatest extent possible,” the statement said.
“As stated previously the Government is anxious to ensure as far as possible, that by the end of the UK inquiry, there are no unanswered questions relating to the Omagh bombing that can only be examined in this State.”
It said the minister, in consultation with her Cabinet colleagues, will “keep under consideration what further action” may be required in this jurisdiction.
The statement did not spell out what this will mean in practice, but added: “Officials here have already been engaging with the inquiry team and look forward to continuing this engagement as the Inquiry now officially begins its work.”
During a visit to Belfast on Wednesday, when the terms of reference were announced but before he saw them, Mr Martin said the Irish Government had been seeking sight of them for “quite some time”.
He said: "In our view, one inquiry is optimal, two separate inquiries to me doesn't make sense because there would be clear overlap and duplication and maybe crossing each other.
"We have mechanisms, we have changed the law in the Republic on a number of occasions to facilitate the provision of information that the Republic may have in respect of certain crimes."