The Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, has reached an agreement with the head of the Omagh bombing inquiry, Lord Turnbull, that will clear the way for the State to provide information and materials to the investigation into the 1998 atrocity.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) sets out working arrangements that will cover “the lawful disclosure of materials from government departments” in the Republic, and their agencies, according to a statement from the Department of Justice on Tuesday afternoon.
The agreement with the Scottish lawyer overseeing the inquiry, Lord Turnbull, also covers “the onward disclosure of those materials and their destruction or retention at the conclusion of the work of the inquiry”.
The Inquiry does not have the power to compel the disclosure of materials from the State, but if the Minister cannot comply with a written request from the Inquiry, he must “respond in writing detailing the reasons why he is not able to comply.”
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The agreement does not cover the taking of evidence from witnesses from the Republic of Ireland, but it is understood the Inquiry will continue to discuss this with Dublin and this could form the basis of a subsequent MoU.
The Irish Times understands that a number of retired senior Garda officers, who held significant positions at the time of the Omagh bomb in 1998, were given clear legal advice that they should not give oral evidence to the inquiry if called.
A total of 31 people, including unborn twins, died and hundreds were injured when a car bomb planted by the dissident republican group the Real IRA exploded in the centre of Omagh on August 15th 1998.
The Government “will continue to engage with the inquiry to find solutions consistent with Irish law to fulfil the Government’s commitment to assisting the inquiry,” the document said.
“The signing of this agreement with the chairman of the inquiry is an important step forward in delivering on the Government’s commitment to facilitating and supporting the work of the inquiry. That is in the best interests of the victims’ families and survivors,” said Mr O’Callaghan, who brought the agreement to the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday as an unscheduled item, a so-called “under arm” item.
The Department of Justice is already dealing with requests for information from the inquiry team alongside other agencies in the Republic, including An Garda Siochána. Further changes, if necessary, will be kept “under review”, the Minister said.
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris said: “Addressing the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland is fundamental to securing peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland.”
The Secretary to the Inquiry, Sam Hartley, said the formal agreement with the Irish Government “marks a significant step forward in allowing the Inquiry access to material, information and assistance from the Government and agencies in Ireland.
“Agreements of this nature are not commonplace in inquiries,” he said, adding that he wanted to express his “gratitude” for the Government’s “repeated commitment to assist the Inquiry.”
The DUP leader, Gavin Robinson, repeated his call for a “full, independent inquiry” into the Omagh bombing to be held south of the Border, saying that what had been agreed “falls well short of what is required.
“This arrangement is a contortion of state control masquerading as co-operation,” he said. “It provides no statutory powers, no ability to compel witnesses and no guarantee of full disclosure.”
The level of co-operation on offer from Dublin towards the inquiry has been a lingering sore, with long-standing complaints from the families of those who were killed by the Real IRA on that day, amid accusations that mistakes were made by both the gardaí and British intelligence services.
The inquiry was set by the UK government on February 21st, 2024 to investigate whether the bombing could have been prevented by the UK’s own authorities, most especially its domestic intelligence arm, MI5.
The families of the Omagh victims met Micheál Martin two years ago when he was tánasite , said Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden (21) was killed in the bomb.
“We told them that we would have preferred that there was an inquiry south of the border, an Irish Government inquiry,” he said.
He said they understood that there would be sensitivities in Dublin about senior gardaí involved in intelligence work giving evidence to a British-run inquiry, on national security grounds, and therefore had suggested parallel inquiries.
“But [Mr Martin] was very much against that. He felt that one inquiry would suffice, and he assured us that there would be full co-operation, but we just couldn’t understand how that would work,” Mr Gallagher told The Irish Times earlier on Tuesday.
Irish and British intelligence services had a deep knowledge of the people involved in the Omagh bombing because all of those involved, he said, had taken part in a succession of bombings.
“This bomb was planned, prepared and delivered from the Republic. The bombers spent less than 40 minutes in Northern Ireland, and returned to the Republic. On that basis, 80 per cent of the evidential opportunities lie within the Republic,” he said.
However, the man responsible for stealing the car that was used in the Omagh bomb was never charged even with the theft of the car by the Irish authorities, even though his identity is known, said Mr Gallagher.
