The Chairman of an Oireachtas committee inquiring into the Dublin bombings of 1972 and 1973 has said he is disappointed at the lack of co-operation from the British authorities in relation to the committee's work.
The Fianna Fáil TD Mr Sean Ardagh, chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights, was speaking to the media this afternoon as the committee announced the details of public hearings into the bombings, which killed three people.
Mr Ardagh said it was of "particular regret" that the British authorities did not co-operate with Mr Justice Barron when he was writing his report into the bombings. "Nor have they co-operated with us in our consideration of the report," he added.
The sub-committee on the Barron report, also chaired by Mr Ardagh, will begin hearing evidence tomorrow from victims and from other witnesses.
The hearings arise from the Barron report into the bombings, which was referred to the Oireachtas committee last year.
Mr Justice Barron also noted the lack of cooperation from the British authorities in his own report on the bombings.
The sub-committee has decided to broadcast the hearings live on TG4 in order to allow them reach as wide an audience as possible.
The hearings will be held from 9.30 a.m. to 12 noon tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday and on Tuesday 1 st, Wednesday 2 ndand Thursday 3 rdof February.
It is expected that an opening statement will be made tomorrow by lawyers for the Justice for the Forgottengroup, which represents victims of the bombings and their relatives. This will be followed by testimony from the bereaved families and survivors of the bombings of December 1972 and January 1973.
On Wednesday, the bereaved families of the Belturbet bombing will address the committee.
The sub-committee will consider the context in which the bombings and the incidents occurred, in particular the crackdown on republican subversives at the time, and the introduction of the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Bill, in late 1972.
Army, Garda and Department of Justice personnel who were involved in investigating the bombings will also appear before the committee.
Justice for the Forgottensaid the hearings are very important to the families, who have waited 32 years for this opportunity.
The body added that the failure of the British Government to co-operate with the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the bombings and again, in these cases, "where there was not even the pretence of co-operation", should be of grave concern to every Irish citizen.
On the evening of December 1st 1972, a car bomb exploded near Liberty Hall in Dublin. There were no fatalities, but many were injured. A second bomb a short time later at Sackville Place, off O'Connell Street, killed Mr George Bradshaw (29), a bus driver, and Mr Tommy Duffy (23), a bus conductor.
On January 20th 1973, a car bomb exploded at Sackville Place killing Mr Tommy Douglas (21), a native of Stirling in Scotland. He had been living in Dublin for just four months and was working as a bus conductor for CIÉ.