Irish Government will ‘fully' cooperate with Omagh Bomb Inquiry
The Irish Government will co-operate 'fully' with the Omagh bomb Inquiry, Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said.
The Irish premier said that work with the inquiry team and and chairman had already begun, while Tanaiste Simon Harris said the Irish Government 'will not be found wanting'.
Mr Harris, who is also Ireland's foreign minister, said he wanted to provide a 'categoric' assurance that his Government would find a legal mechanism to ensure all requested material is supplied to the UK inquiry into the 1998 attack.
There is a significant cross-border element to the investigation into the Omagh bomb, as the attackers travelled across the border with the bomb ahead of the devastating blast in Co Tyrone.
Everybody in Ireland remembers the horror of that sunny August afternoon in Omagh, and today will be another stark reminder of the pain and suffering caused to so many families as the commemorative hearings begin
Simon Harris
A judge who called on the UK Government to set up an inquiry also urged the Irish Government to establish its own probe.
Ministers in Dublin decided against holding their own separate inquiry but have pledged to co-operate with the UK one.
Ahead of the first substantive hearings beginning in Omagh on Tuesday, some relatives of the bereaved had questioned whether the Irish authorities would hand over all requested information.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was killed, was particularly vocal on the issue.
Asked about the cooperation of the Irish Government, Mr Martin said: 'We have worked with the inquiry team and officials in my previous department – the Department of Foreign Affairs – would have engaged with the chairman of the tribunal and inquiry team, along with officials with the Department of Justice who are working with Department of Foreign Affairs.
'I've made it very clear that we have to cooperate fully with the inquiry team, just as we did in previous inquiries, where we passed legislation to enable us to provide information to such either inquests or inquiries.'
Mr Harris, who was on visit to Stormont in Belfast on Tuesday, moved to offer reassurance to the families.
'Everybody in Ireland remembers the horror of that sunny August afternoon in Omagh, and today will be another stark reminder of the pain and suffering caused to so many families as the commemorative hearings begin,' he said.
'Testimony over the coming weeks will be difficult, especially for those who lost loved ones, and for those who responded first as the news broke, but it is important to remind ourselves of the full horror of that brutal attack, to remind ourselves of the purpose of this inquiry.
'When I was taoiseach, the Government took a clear decision to assist the Omagh Inquiry. That commitment was made clear, publicly, at the preliminary hearing last August.
'The programme for Government repeats that commitment in no uncertain terms, stating plainly that we will 'play our full part in legacy processes… including facilitating and supporting the Omagh Inquiry'.
'The cross-border nature of the assistance, to an inquiry established under UK law, means that it takes some work to get the details of the mechanisms of co-operation right, but we are actively engaging in this work and we will not be found wanting.'
Mr Harris was challenged on the issue as he fielded questions from reporters at Parliament Buildings.
'I want to be categoric here that the Irish Government will ensure full co-operation with the inquiry,' he said.
'Our absolute, overstated, clear aim here is to make sure that all questions are answered through this inquiry, and can I say I think today is a very, very difficult and painful day for the families, for the families of victims, for the families of the many that were injured.
'It is a stark reminder of the horror and the evil that was experienced on that day in 1998, and I think of all of the victims today. I think of all of the families as well.
'And I heard Michael Gallagher's comments earlier. Michael Gallagher, a good man who has worked so hard for truth and for justice, and I want to absolutely assure him, and I want to assure all of the families that the Irish Government will co-operate.'
He added: 'It is about finding the mechanism, because, obviously, Ireland is a sovereign country, the mechanism for engagement, but that will be found.
'There will be a way forward, and we will all work to make sure that victims, their families, the people of Northern Ireland, the people of this island, get answers and get truth.'
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