A former Fianna Fail minister for justice and Progressive Democrat TD, Mr Des O'Malley, yesterday described comments by the Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, on the Omagh bomb investigation as "unsatisfactory".
Mr O'Malley said Mr Byrne should "expand and explain" what he said. "It is unsatisfactory certainly to give the impression that the investigation might be scaled down in some way," Mr O'Malley said.
"I would not like to think that the gardai and the RUC would close any file. I hope the gardai and the RUC will continue their efforts to catch these people." Mr O'Malley said the bomb was the single greatest atrocity in this country, which claimed 29 lives. Meanwhile, the Fine Gael spokesman on Northern Ireland, Mr Charles Flanagan, appealed to people with information about those responsible for the bomb to co-operate with gardai. "Otherwise they share some part of the responsibility for the failure to bring the perpetrators to justice and help the victims come to terms with what has happened."
The Labour Party spokesman on Justice, Mr Brendan Howlin, called on the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, to give an unequivocal commitment the investigation would continue until those responsible were brought to justice. If necessary, the Government should issue a directive to the gardai to this effect, he said.
"The comments of Commissioner Byrne have clearly come as a great shock to the families of the dead. While they may reflect his professional assessment of the situation, it was insensitive for him to put the views into the public domain in this way rather than having them conveyed privately to the families concerned." Those bereaved by the Omagh bombing share the frustration expressed yesterday by Mr Byrne, that most people involved in the 1998 Real IRA attack will probably never be brought to justice.
"Some of the bereaved families have despaired at the comments while others have simply said `I told you so', " said Mr Michael Gallagher, whose son, Adrian (21), was one of 29 people killed.
In an interview in yesterday's Irish News, Mr Byrne said his force had the intelligence to identify those involved, but lacked sufficient evidence to bring charges. He said the masterminds of the attack, which also injured over 300 people, "possibly and maybe probably" would evade justice.
Mr Gallagher, chairman of the Omagh Self-Help group, which represents 14 bereaved families, said he believed the gardai and the RUC had done everything possible in the investigation but had little to show for it. However, he urged the police not to give up.
Mr Victor Barker, a solicitor from Surrey in England, lost his son James (12) who was with an exchange group from Buncrana, Co Donegal, on a day trip to the town. He spoke with Mr Byrne by telephone yesterday. "There is no sense that he is giving up. The gardai, in fairness, are doing all they can with the resources they have. I share his frustration, but unfortunately we live in a democracy which means you have to obey the law even though the people behind the bombing do not work within any rules."
Mr Oliver Gibson, the DUP MLA for the Omagh area, said he was not surprised by the Commissioner's comments. Ms Esther Gibson, his cousin, died in the blast. He believes the gardai and the RUC have done their best. "Byrne is bound to be frustrated, Flanagan is bound to be frustrated. It has nothing to do with evidence, the draconian laws are sitting there."