Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has pledged to seek a full investigation into the 1997 murder of a young Belfast man, Raymond McCord jnr, by the UVF and will raise the issue with Northern Secretary Peter Hain.
After an hour-long meeting with the victim's father Raymond McCord snr at Government Buildings yesterday, a spokeswoman for the Taoiseach said Mr Ahern was particularly concerned about the possible use of informers in the murder.
The McCord family believes security forces covered up the 1997 murder of the 22-year-old. Mr McCord snr said he was impressed by the Taoiseach's knowledge of the case and the strength of his support for an inquiry.
"Mr Ahern has given me his assurances that he will do everything he can to help us get justice for young Raymond and I believe the man," he said.
"I would like the Irish Government to go all the way like they did for the Finucane family in terms of an independent public inquiry."
He said the Taoiseach had told him that he would raise the issue with Mr Blair on the fringes of the European Council meeting in Brussels on Friday.
Mr Ahern's spokeswoman said the report on the case by the Police Ombudsman, due later this year, would be very important.
Mr McCord claims Special Branch police officers colluded with, and later covered up for loyalists who beat his son to death and later dumped his body in a north Belfast quarry. He believes that a UVF member involved in the murder has been protected because he was a Special Branch police agent.
"The police knew what the UVF had been doing for years. All these murders could have been stopped but the security forces allowed them to go ahead," he said.
"Police officers who handled these people told me in recent weeks that if they had been allowed to take action in March 1997, my son would still be alive and many other Protestant victims too.
"They went to their bosses and they were told to go away, that there was a bigger picture. What could be a bigger picture than saving the life of a 22-year-old boy?"
Mr McCord has also met Labour leader Pat Rabbitte and other political party leaders. However, he accused Democratic Unionist Party leader the Rev Ian Paisley of ignoring loyalist violence.
"Ian Paisley has turned a blind eye to UVF violence and UVF murders of Protestants," he said.
He told reporters he had requested a meeting with Dr Paisley several weeks ago but he never replied.