Latest news with #OmaghBombingInquiry
Powys County Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Powys County Times
Omagh victims intend to use public inquiry to ‘heap shame' on Irish Government
Victims of the Omagh bombing intend to use a public inquiry to 'heap shame' on the Irish Government for its failings over the atrocity, a barrister has said. The inquiry also heard that victims are 'sick and tired of platitudes, false assurances and broken promises' from Dublin over the bombing. The Omagh Bombing Inquiry, chaired by Lord Turnbull, is hearing opening statements from core participants. On Tuesday the focus moved to statements from the legal representatives of bereaved families. The Real IRA bomb in the Co Tyrone town in August 1998 killed 29 people, including a woman who was pregnant with twins, in the worst single atrocity in the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The public inquiry was set up by the previous government to examine whether the explosion could have been prevented by the UK authorities. Speaking in Dublin, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said any claim that his Government had not co-operated with the inquiry was 'not fair comment'. He said a memorandum of understanding had been agreed with the chair of the inquiry, and the Government was 'very, very committed to co-operating fully with the inquiry and making material available to the inquiry'. Barrister Alan Kane KC delivered a statement on behalf of the families of Omagh victims represented by solicitor John McBurney. These include the families of Debra-Anne Cartwright, Olive Hawkes, Julia Hughes, Philomena Skelton, Samantha McFarland, Alan Radford, Lorraine Wilson, who were all killed in the massacre, as well as several other people who were injured. He told the inquiry: 'It is important that we always keep in focus that it was republican terrorists under the name Real IRA who planned and planted the Omagh bomb. They alone are responsible for the loss and hurt caused by it. 'On hearing the accounts of so many at the commemorative hearings, it beggars all belief as to what else was intended other than murderous carnage by leaving a bomb in a peaceful town's main street on a busy sunny Saturday afternoon where so many innocent women, children and men were likely to be. 'The preventability of the murders and injuries was at all times within the absolute control of the Real IRA.' He added: 'Our clients are of the clear belief that whatever aspects of preventability may lie at the door of the UK state authorities, blame, to a greater or lesser extent, rests with the state authorities in the Republic of Ireland. 'Our clients again renew their call for a parallel inquiry to be immediately established by the Government of the Republic of Ireland, a call that they should not be required to repeat. 'Our clients remain greatly disappointed at the lack of any commitment of the authorities in the Republic of Ireland to meaningfully assist this inquiry. 'They regard the memorandum of understanding, agreed with the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Ireland as wholly unsatisfactory. 'Our clients wish to use this inquiry to heap shame on the Government of the Republic of Ireland for their failures.' Mr Kane said there was a 'moral, human and legal imperative' on the Dublin Government to set up its own inquiry. He said: 'As a country with a professed European inclination, it is extremely regrettable that the Republic of Ireland continues to be in breach of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights in failing to ensure there has ever been any effective investigation into the death of the people to whom they owe that duty. 'There are preventability issues which clearly arise from the territorial origin of the Omagh bomb, and the cowardly refuge which its perpetrators enjoyed within the boundaries of the Republic of Ireland.' The barrister said his clients had likened the work of the public inquiry to an MOT vehicle test. He said: 'To their disbelief, they are told only the engine can be inspected, all that exists beyond the engine, including the body, the suspension, the brakes, the contents of the boot, cannot be examined. 'Such an MOT would clearly be unfit for purpose. 'This inquiry can only examine the parts of the car made in the UK as it were, the preventability, it cannot examine the rest of the car where the terrorists sat, or the boot area where the deadly bomb was hidden. 'If this inquiry could examine the whole car then it would also be able to examine any preventability issues which fall on the Republic of Ireland state authorities and all the faults and defects in the vehicle could be identified.' The barrister referred to comments from former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern that no stone would be left unturned to bring those responsible for the 1998 atrocity to justice. He said: 'That is a promise which has significance only for the ignoring and disregarding of it which has taken place over the almost 27 years which has passed since the Omagh bombing.' Mr Kane added: 'I have the authority of those I represent to say they are sick and tired of platitudes, false assurances, broken promises and grand but empty words from the state authorities of the Republic of Ireland. 'Their resolute refusal to institute a parallel inquiry and their ongoing failure to provide real and meaningful cooperation with this inquiry speaks far louder than their words.' The barrister referred to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreed between the inquiry and the Irish Government to allow access to material held in Dublin. Mr Kane said the MOU is 'redundant' due to the terms of how it was drafted. He said: 'First because the assessment of relevance is in the power of the Republic of Ireland, secondly because it only relates to relevance concerning preventability by the UK state authorities. 'This is an unacceptable yet significant escape clause for the Republic of Ireland. 'Under the memorandum the Republic of Ireland state authorities, and therefore any information which reflects badly on them, could be determined by them to be irrelevant.' He added: 'This voluntary statement of participation by the Government of the Republic of Ireland lacks any degree of real commitment and does nothing to give our clients any degree of confidence in it.'
ITV News
5 days ago
- Politics
- ITV News
Omagh victims to use inquiry to ‘heap shame' on Irish Government for its failings over the atrocity
The Irish government's commitment to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry has come under severe criticism from bereaved families and injured survivors. On Tuesday, the inquiry was told that many families are "sick and tired" of false assurances and broken promises from Dublin. Barrister Alan Kane KC delivered a statement on behalf of the families of Omagh victims represented by solicitor John McBurney. These include the families of Debra-Anne Cartwright, Olive Hawkes, Julia Hughes, Philomena Skelton, Samantha McFarland, Alan Radford, Lorraine Wilson, who were all killed in the massacre, as well as several other people who were injured. He told the inquiry: 'Our clients are of the clear belief that whatever aspects of preventability may lie at the door of the UK state authorities, blame, to a greater or lesser extent, rests with the state authorities in the Republic of Ireland. 'Our clients again renew their call for a parallel inquiry to be immediately established by the government of the Republic of Ireland, a call that they should not be required to repeat. 'Our clients remain greatly disappointed at the lack of any commitment of the authorities in the Republic of Ireland to meaningfully assist this inquiry. 'They regard the memorandum of understanding, agreed with the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Ireland as wholly unsatisfactory. 'Our clients wish to use this inquiry to heap shame on the Government of the Republic of Ireland for their failures.' However, the Taoiseach has defended his government's approach, saying that it is fully committed to the inquiry. Micheál Martin said: 'The difficulty with a parallel inquiry is you would have two inquiries going on at the same time into basically the same issues, and that could lead to a lot of duplication and delay. 'We're very, very clear of the need for our government and our Department of Justice, and others, to be fully open in terms of materials to be sent to the Omagh inquiry, and to co-operate fully with the Omagh inquiry. 'Certainly we are interested in (the inquiry), obviously, in terms of any potential future atrocities, and also to give justice to the families and some degree of closure, if that's possible, to the families who have fought long and hard for transparency on this issue.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Omagh victims intend to use public inquiry to ‘heap shame' on Irish Government
Victims of the Omagh bombing intend to use a public inquiry to 'heap shame' on the Irish Government for its failings over the atrocity, a barrister has said. The inquiry also heard that victims are 'sick and tired of platitudes, false assurances and broken promises' from Dublin over the bombing. The Omagh Bombing Inquiry, chaired by Lord Turnbull, is hearing opening statements from core participants. On Tuesday the focus moved to statements from the legal representatives of bereaved families. The Real IRA bomb in the Co Tyrone town in August 1998 killed 29 people, including a woman who was pregnant with twins, in the worst single atrocity in the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The public inquiry was set up by the previous government to examine whether the explosion could have been prevented by the UK authorities. Speaking in Dublin, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said any claim that his Government had not co-operated with the inquiry was 'not fair comment'. He said a memorandum of understanding had been agreed with the chair of the inquiry, and the Government was 'very, very committed to co-operating fully with the inquiry and making material available to the inquiry'. Barrister Alan Kane KC delivered a statement on behalf of the families of Omagh victims represented by solicitor John McBurney. These include the families of Debra-Anne Cartwright, Olive Hawkes, Julia Hughes, Philomena Skelton, Samantha McFarland, Alan Radford, Lorraine Wilson, who were all killed in the massacre, as well as several other people who were injured. He told the inquiry: 'It is important that we always keep in focus that it was republican terrorists under the name Real IRA who planned and planted the Omagh bomb. They alone are responsible for the loss and hurt caused by it. 'On hearing the accounts of so many at the commemorative hearings, it beggars all belief as to what else was intended other than murderous carnage by leaving a bomb in a peaceful town's main street on a busy sunny Saturday afternoon where so many innocent women, children and men were likely to be. 'The preventability of the murders and injuries was at all times within the absolute control of the Real IRA.' He added: 'Our clients are of the clear belief that whatever aspects of preventability may lie at the door of the UK state authorities, blame, to a greater or lesser extent, rests with the state authorities in the Republic of Ireland. 'Our clients again renew their call for a parallel inquiry to be immediately established by the Government of the Republic of Ireland, a call that they should not be required to repeat. 'Our clients remain greatly disappointed at the lack of any commitment of the authorities in the Republic of Ireland to meaningfully assist this inquiry. 'They regard the memorandum of understanding, agreed with the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Ireland as wholly unsatisfactory. 'Our clients wish to use this inquiry to heap shame on the Government of the Republic of Ireland for their failures.' Mr Kane said there was a 'moral, human and legal imperative' on the Dublin Government to set up its own inquiry. He said: 'As a country with a professed European inclination, it is extremely regrettable that the Republic of Ireland continues to be in breach of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights in failing to ensure there has ever been any effective investigation into the death of the people to whom they owe that duty. 'There are preventability issues which clearly arise from the territorial origin of the Omagh bomb, and the cowardly refuge which its perpetrators enjoyed within the boundaries of the Republic of Ireland.' The barrister said his clients had likened the work of the public inquiry to an MOT vehicle test. He said: 'To their disbelief, they are told only the engine can be inspected, all that exists beyond the engine, including the body, the suspension, the brakes, the contents of the boot, cannot be examined. 'Such an MOT would clearly be unfit for purpose. 'This inquiry can only examine the parts of the car made in the UK as it were, the preventability, it cannot examine the rest of the car where the terrorists sat, or the boot area where the deadly bomb was hidden. 'If this inquiry could examine the whole car then it would also be able to examine any preventability issues which fall on the Republic of Ireland state authorities and all the faults and defects in the vehicle could be identified.' The barrister referred to comments from former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern that no stone would be left unturned to bring those responsible for the 1998 atrocity to justice. He said: 'That is a promise which has significance only for the ignoring and disregarding of it which has taken place over the almost 27 years which has passed since the Omagh bombing.' Mr Kane added: 'I have the authority of those I represent to say they are sick and tired of platitudes, false assurances, broken promises and grand but empty words from the state authorities of the Republic of Ireland. 'Their resolute refusal to institute a parallel inquiry and their ongoing failure to provide real and meaningful cooperation with this inquiry speaks far louder than their words.' The barrister referred to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreed between the inquiry and the Irish Government to allow access to material held in Dublin. Mr Kane said the MOU is 'redundant' due to the terms of how it was drafted. He said: 'First because the assessment of relevance is in the power of the Republic of Ireland, secondly because it only relates to relevance concerning preventability by the UK state authorities. 'This is an unacceptable yet significant escape clause for the Republic of Ireland. 'Under the memorandum the Republic of Ireland state authorities, and therefore any information which reflects badly on them, could be determined by them to be irrelevant.' He added: 'This voluntary statement of participation by the Government of the Republic of Ireland lacks any degree of real commitment and does nothing to give our clients any degree of confidence in it.'
RTÉ News
5 days ago
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Government 'very committed' to cooperating on Omagh inquiry
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said he rejects comments that the Irish government co-operation with the Omagh Bombing Inquiry has been "wholly unsatisfactory". It comes as a barrister representing families of the dead and some of the injured said they remained "greatly disappointed" at the lack of commitment on the part of the Irish authorities to "meaningfully assist" the inquiry. Mr Martin said that the government is "very committed" to cooperating fully and making material available to the inquiry. "I don't think it's fair to make that comment," he said in response to the barrister's comments. Irish Government cooperation with the Omagh Bombing Inquiry has been criticised as "wholly unsatisfactory" by a barrister representing families of the dead and some of the injured today. Alan Kane KC was making an opening statement on behalf of the families of eight of those killed in the 1998 bombing and eight of the injured. He said they remained "greatly disappointed" at the lack of commitment on the part of the Irish authorities to "meaningfully assist" the inquiry. Later, counsel for another 14 of the families said the credibility of the inquiry rested, at least in part, on the effectiveness of the agreement with the Irish Government through the memorandum of understanding. Hugh Southey KC said the families he represented continued to press for a parallel public inquiry in the Republic of Ireland. "It's not yet known if the memorandum of understanding will result in full disclosure of all documentation and the attendance of all relevant witnesses, but this will become clear within a relatively short period of time. "The victims and survivors that I represent urge the inquiry to keep the effectiveness of the memorandum under review. "The credibility of the inquiry's work does, at least to some extent, depend on the memorandum of understanding." Department of Justice In a statement the Department of Justice said it was committed to helping in any way it could. "The Government has made it clear it intention to do everything possible to assist the inquiry. "The cross border nature of the assistance means this is a complex area, however, the signing of the memorandum of understanding proves that it is possible." The spokesperson said the department was already dealing with requests from the inquiry and the government remained committed to enacting new legislation if required to facilitate support to the inquiry. The Government has agreed a memorandum of understanding with the Omagh Inquiry which will see it provide documents from Irish State archives. But Mr Kane said the families he represented regarded it as "wholly unsatisfactory" "Our clients wish to use this inquiry to heap shame on the Government of the Republic of Ireland for their failures. "They consider there is a moral, human and legal imperative on the Government of the Republic of Ireland to establish a parallel inquiry into the deaths of people who were their own citizens, visitors to their country and those who would have been entitled to Irish citizenship under their laws." Yesterday lawyers for the PSNI, the Northern Secretary, and the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland all made opening statements to the inquiry. It was made clear that the pace of discovery of documents was slow due to the fact that any digital files available were held on antiquated computer systems and in many cases searches had to be conducted by hand in physical archives. Mr Southey later said effective disruption of the Omagh bombing potentially require the assistance of the Irish authorities. He said his clients wanted the Irish Government to establish a procedure that would enable findings to be reached regarding any failings that may have occurred within the jurisdiction of the Republic of Ireland. He said it appeared that information had been available to the gardai that had not been passed to the RUC. The Omagh Bomb Investigation Team briefed families in 2008 during which they told them intelligence material showed that dissident republicans had discussed police and army bases in Omagh in November 1997. That briefing document had stated: "The information was not passed onto the RUC, and therefore the sub-divisional commander in Omagh was not made aware of this information regarding the military bases or his own station. "The Investigation Team assessed that this information should have been passed onto the RUC at that time bearing in mind the number of terrorist bombs and attempted bombs in 1997. The same briefing document said that, in addition, after an operation by the Garda in April 1998 to disrupt a dissident operation, a generalised document was provided to the RUC that lacked sufficient detail. Twenty-nine people were killed, including a woman pregnant with twins, when the Real IRA detonated a car bomb in Omagh's main street on August 1998. Mr Kane said there were a host of issues arising in the Republic which needed to be fully addressed at the inquiry, including the actions of agents there, information provided by a garda whistleblower and the adequacy of various investigations that had been carried out. And he questioned the ability of the memorandum to deliver the candour his clients wanted. He said the mechanism whereby the Irish authorities would supply documents which it considered relevant and which related purely to any failures by the UK authorities was a "significant escape clause" for the Republic. He said that was compounded by the retained right to redact Irish documents before sending them to the inquiry. None of this instilled confidence, he said. "I have the authority of those I represent to say that they are sick and tired of platitudes, false assurances, broken promises and the grand but empty words from the State authorities of the Republic of Ireland. "Their resolute refusal to institute a parallel inquiry and their ongoing failure to provide real and meaningful co-operation with this inquiry speaks far louder than their words."
Leader Live
5 days ago
- Politics
- Leader Live
Omagh victims intend to use public inquiry to ‘heap shame' on Irish Government
The inquiry also heard that victims are 'sick and tired of platitudes, false assurances and broken promises' from Dublin over the bombing. The Omagh Bombing Inquiry, chaired by Lord Turnbull, is hearing opening statements from core participants. On Tuesday the focus moved to statements from the legal representatives of bereaved families. The Real IRA bomb in the Co Tyrone town in August 1998 killed 29 people, including a woman who was pregnant with twins, in the worst single atrocity in the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The public inquiry was set up by the previous government to examine whether the explosion could have been prevented by the UK authorities. Barrister Alan Kane KC delivered a statement on behalf of the families of Omagh victims represented by solicitor John McBurney. These include the families of Debra-Anne Cartwright, Olive Hawkes, Julia Hughes, Philomena Skelton, Samantha McFarland, Alan Radford, Lorraine Wilson, who were all killed in the massacre, as well as several other people who were injured. He told the inquiry: 'It is important that we always keep in focus that it was republican terrorists under the name Real IRA who planned and planted the Omagh bomb. They alone are responsible for the loss and hurt caused by it. 'On hearing the accounts of so many at the commemorative hearings, it beggars all belief as to what else was intended other than murderous carnage by leaving a bomb in a peaceful town's main street on a busy sunny Saturday afternoon where so many innocent women, children and men were likely to be. 'The preventability of the murders and injuries was at all times within the absolute control of the Real IRA.' He added: 'Our clients are of the clear belief that whatever aspects of preventability may lie at the door of the UK state authorities, blame, to a greater or lesser extent, rests with the state authorities in the Republic of Ireland. 'Our clients again renew their call for a parallel inquiry to be immediately established by the Government of the Republic of Ireland, a call that they should not be required to repeat. 'Our clients remain greatly disappointed at the lack of any commitment of the authorities in the Republic of Ireland to meaningfully assist this inquiry. 'They regard the memorandum of understanding, agreed with the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Ireland as wholly unsatisfactory. 'Our clients wish to use this inquiry to heap shame on the Government of the Republic of Ireland for their failures.' Mr Kane said there was a 'moral, human and legal imperative' on the Dublin Government to set up its own inquiry. He said: 'As a country with a professed European inclination, it is extremely regrettable that the Republic of Ireland continues to be in breach of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights in failing to ensure there has ever been any effective investigation into the death of the people to whom they owe that duty. 'There are preventability issues which clearly arise from the territorial origin of the Omagh bomb, and the cowardly refuge which its perpetrators enjoyed within the boundaries of the Republic of Ireland.' The barrister said his clients had likened the work of the public inquiry to an MOT vehicle test. He said: 'To their disbelief, they are told only the engine can be inspected, all that exists beyond the engine, including the body, the suspension, the brakes, the contents of the boot, cannot be examined. 'Such an MOT would clearly be unfit for purpose. 'This inquiry can only examine the parts of the car made in the UK as it were, the preventability, it cannot examine the rest of the car where the terrorists sat, or the boot area where the deadly bomb was hidden. 'If this inquiry could examine the whole car then it would also be able to examine any preventability issues which fall on the Republic of Ireland state authorities and all the faults and defects in the vehicle could be identified.' The barrister referred to comments from former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern that no stone would be left unturned to bring those responsible for the 1998 atrocity to justice. He said: 'That is a promise which has significance only for the ignoring and disregarding of it which has taken place over the almost 27 years which has passed since the Omagh bombing.' Mr Kane added: 'I have the authority of those I represent to say they are sick and tired of platitudes, false assurances, broken promises and grand but empty words from the state authorities of the Republic of Ireland. 'Their resolute refusal to institute a parallel inquiry and their ongoing failure to provide real and meaningful cooperation with this inquiry speaks far louder than their words.' The barrister referred to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreed between the inquiry and the Irish Government to allow access to material held in Dublin. Mr Kane said the MOU is 'redundant' due to the terms of how it was drafted. He said: 'First because the assessment of relevance is in the power of the Republic of Ireland, secondly because it only relates to relevance concerning preventability by the UK state authorities. 'This is an unacceptable yet significant escape clause for the Republic of Ireland. 'Under the memorandum the Republic of Ireland state authorities, and therefore any information which reflects badly on them, could be determined by them to be irrelevant.' He added: 'This voluntary statement of participation by the Government of the Republic of Ireland lacks any degree of real commitment and does nothing to give our clients any degree of confidence in it.'
