NI Assembly calls on Irish Government to start inquiry into Omagh bomb

By Cillian Sherlock (PA)

The Irish Government should start its own public inquiry into the Omagh bombing, according to a motion passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Dublin has said it will fully co-operate with the UK inquiry into the bombing, which is operating out of Omagh, but the Government in the Republic of Ireland has stopped short of committing to a separate public inquiry.

Ireland’s Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said the Irish Government expects to agre one a memorandum of understanding with the UK Omagh Bombing Inquiry in the coming weeks.

The existing probe is examining whether the atrocity carried out by the Real IRA in the Co Tyrone town in August 1998 could have been prevented.

The bomb killed 29 people, including a woman who was pregnant with twins, in the worst single atrocity in the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

All those who were killed were remembered during commemorative hearings at the inquiry earlier this year, and evidence was also heard from those injured and emergency workers who responded.

The motion passed by the Assembly on Tuesday “laments the lack of any tangible effort” by the Irish Government to conduct their own inquiry into the Omagh bombing atrocity or deal with the wider aftermath of the Troubles.

The motion was brought by UUP MLAs Doug Beattie, Dr Steve Aiken, Robbie Butler and John Stewart.

Mr Beattie told the Assembly that the vehicle that delivered the bomb was stolen in the Republic of Ireland, adding that the explosives were also sourced and assembled in the Republic.

“Yet the Dublin Government does not feel the need to hold a public inquiry in parallel to the UK inquiry or even a commission of investigation.

“They clearly do not take their commitment to victims seriously, and many victims do not trust their hollow words. They do not trust some weak memorandum of understanding in regards to information sharing, and they have good reason not to trust them.”

Mr Beattie said that commitments on implementing new legislation will be “pointless” if it does not include powers to compel witnesses from the Republic of Ireland, including gardai and military intelligence, to address the Omagh bomb inquiry.

Mr Butler told the Assembly that the intent of the motion was to seek truth and justice for innocent victims of terrorism.

He said the legacy of pain from the Troubles spreads beyond Northern Ireland and added that that means “the Government of the Republic of Ireland need to act”.

However, Mr Butler said “active engagement is not enough”. He told the Assembly: “We need to tie this down and it needs to be codified and it needs to be done in agreement between the UK Government and the Irish government.”

Mr Butler said there also needs to be a parallel or standalone inquiry in the Republic of Ireland, adding: “Warm words will not cut it.”

He told the Assembly: “If a Government knows and is holding on to information that would give relief and release to these people, shame on them.”

He added: “In 2025, there’s absolutely no reason why the Government in the Republic of Ireland shouldn’t do what our Government in the UK do, and that is to fess up and provide the absolute truth for victims of terrorism. ”

The UUP motion also called on the UK Government to initiate an inquiry into the role of the Irish state during the Troubles, but this wording was replaced by a DUP amendment.

The DUP amendment states that the Assembly believes the memorandum of understanding between the Omagh Bombing Inquiry and the Irish Government will be “entirely deficient” in providing answers for the victims and their families.

It also calls on the Irish Government to initiate a public inquiry into the Omagh bomb, with powers to compel any person in the Republic of Ireland to provide evidence, information, and material pertinent to a full and unfettered investigation on behalf of victims and survivors.

That amendment was brought by DUP MLAs Joanne Bunting, Maurice Bradley, and Stephen Dunne.

Ms Bunting said it was “imperative” that the Republic of Ireland Government instigates its own inquiry.

The DUP amendment called on Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long to demonstrate her commitment to challenging the Irish Government’s “failure to investigate the role of the Irish state during the Troubles”.

Ms Long told the Assembly that her Department has no role in the conduct of the inquiry and that it would be for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to formally engage with the Irish Government in relation to the inquiry.

She added: “Whilst there has been considerable discussion about the compellability of testimony and evidence from the Irish state, I would hope that the Irish government will live up to their commitment to fully co-operate with this inquiry, and that such compulsion should not be required.

“It is a moral obligation that falls on all of us when we are aware of information that could bring someone else truth and justice, that we disclose that information and co-operate in every way that we could.”

Ms Long also said the Northern Ireland Department of Justice cannot intrude on the decision of the Republic of Ireland to hold its own inquiry or compel it to co-operate with the existing inquiry.

She also said she shared some concerns with Mr O’Callaghan that an entirely separate inquiry could result in putting people through another traumatic process.

She said it would be “sensible” to examine whether a mechanism can exist by which people can be assured they can get full truth from the existing inquiry.

Emergency services inspect the damage caused by the Omagh bomb (Paul Mcerlane/PA)