Conor Lally
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, may be invited to appear before the Oireachtas subcommittee to explain why he was not more insistent with the British and Northern Irish authorities when they refused Mr Justice Barron access to files on the Dublin-Monaghan bombings of 1974.
Following his inquiry into the bombings, Mr Justice Barron presented his findings to the Government last October.
A number of Cabinet ministers at the time of the bombings have also been invited to appear before the joint Oireachtas subcommittee on justice.
These include Mr Paddy Cooney, Dr Garret FitzGerald, Dr Conor Cruise O'Brien and Mr Justin Keating.
Invitations have also been extended to the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Lieut Gen Colm Mangan, and the Garda Commissioner, Mr Noel Conroy.
These latter three will be asked to outline anti-terrorism policies which existed at the time and to say how they have changed since.
Mr Paul Murphy, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, has also been invited to appear as has a number of his predecessors, including Mr Peter Mandelson and Mr John Reid.
Mr Hugh Orde, chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, has also been asked to attend.
All are scheduled to appear before the subcommittee in mid- February. However, it is unlikely that any of the British and Northern Irish officials and former officials will agree to attend.
The subcommittee will report back to the Government in March on whether it believes a public tribunal of inquiry into the Dublin-Monaghan bombings is warranted.
At its opening public session yesterday, most of the relatives of the 33 dead, and some of those injured in the bombs, called for a public inquiry to be established.
However, Mr Desmond J. Doherty, a lawyer acting for three families, made an application seeking to bypass most of the committee's proposed schedule claiming it is "toothless". The families believe a tribunal of inquiry should be established immediately.
While an invitation has not yet been extended to Mr Ahern, The Irish Times understands that he will be asked to outline his efforts to secure access for Mr Justice Barron to the 60,000 files in the North and in Britain on the bombings.
Some of the witnesses who appeared before the subcommittee yesterday praised Mr Ahern, saying he was the first Taoiseach to have taken a real interest in their case.
Others were critical of the inaction of successive governments in trying to establish the truth behind the bombings and allegations of collusion between the UVF and the British security forces.
Mr Tim Grace, whose wife Breda (34) was killed in the Talbot Street bomb, yesterday said the success of any proper investigation depended on co-operation from the British and Northern Ireland authorities.