The failure to bring anyone to book for the murders of the 29 people and two near-term babies killed in the Omagh bomb "brought into sharper focus" the lack of formal co-operation between the Garda and PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland), a report on cross-Border policing says.
The report, drawn up by the University of Limerick and the University of Ulster, also notes that no joint disaster plan exists between the police forces on either side of the Border.
While both forces are now working on the creation of "joint investigative teams", such a development is still in its early stage.
The report notes that some PSNI officers favour the notion of an all-Ireland law commission to work out strategies and legal mechanisms where officers from one force can work alongside counterparts in the other in investigating cross-Border crime.
It says: "The failure to form joint investigative teams was brought into sharper focus by the events in Omagh in 1998. "The investigation that followed was limited to parallel investigations on both sides of the Border rather that employing any kind of joint investigative team.
"In fact, the investigation was highly controversial and highlighted the inadequacies of co-operation existing between the RUC and the Garda Siochána.
"It exposed the superficial nature of co-operation where serious legislative and procedural barriers had been largely neglected in the hope that informal, ad hoc police co-operation would suffice."
The report quotes an unnamed senior PSNI officer as saying: "Omagh will be a template, a model on the failures of cross-Border policing and how we can learn from the mistakes and weaknesses of that investigation for the future."
It also quotes another unnamed senior Garda officer who said: "Things got serious after Omagh - politically, co-operation became much more important."
The report found that the notion of having PSNI liaison officers based in Garda Headquarters in Dublin has proved problematic. The Government has held the position that such liaison officers should have diplomatic accreditation and that so far such officers are currently based in the British Embassy in Dublin.
It points out that at present PSNI officers seeking to pursue investigations in Scotland do so with the permission and assistance of Scottish police.
"It should be necessary to legislate for this possibility by introducing the sort of arrangements that permit officers from Northern Ireland to pursue investigations in Scotland with the knowledge and assistance of the Scottish police.
"Such legislation would also have to address the manner and extent to which evidence gathered in the course of such an investigation could be used in the home jurisdiction. A PSNI officer suggested that an all-Ireland Law Commission could be established to explore this possibility."
While the report found there is good informal co-operation between police, particularly between Donegal and Derry and Tyrone, there has been a long history of suspicion and lack of co-operation between both forces.
It pointed out that in his report on the reform of the RUC, Sir Chris Patten made lengthy recommendations on improving cross-Border co-operation. The Patten Report noted the lack of a joint disaster plan as a serious omission and recommended that it be "rectified immediately".
Senior officers from both forces are now working on such a plan. The report observes: "It has been recognised however that a disaster at Sellafield would threaten both jurisdictions, leakage from chemical plants in Derry/Londonderry would spread noxious fumes which would extend to Donegal."