Republic of Ireland agrees deal on sharing material with inquiry

The Irish government has agreed a co-operation arrangement with the Omagh Bombing Inquiry.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which had been expected, was signed off at a cabinet meeting in Dublin.

Twenty-nine people, including a woman expecting twins, died in the 1998 Real IRA attack, which was carried out from the Irish Republic.

The MoU will allow the inquiry access to material held by the Irish government.

The inquiry secretary Sam Hartley welcomed the agreement.

“This formal agreement marks a significant step forward in allowing the inquiry access to material, information and assistance from the government and agencies in Ireland,” he said.

“Agreements of this nature are not commonplace in inquiries.

“On behalf of the inquiry, I express my gratitude to the government of Ireland for its repeated commitment to assist the inquiry.”

Some victims’ relatives, however, had wanted Dublin to establish a parallel inquiry in its own jurisdiction.

They believe it is the only way to ensure full disclosure of information and compel witnesses based in Ireland to provide evidence.

Irish Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said the MoU was “an important step forward”.

“The agreement provides transparency in relation to how the (Irish) government will fulfil its commitment and provides a clear framework to guide departments and their agencies who may hold materials potentially relevant to the work of the Inquiry,” the minister said.

The memorandum, Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris said, is “a key step in delivering” the Dublin government’s previous commitment to addressing the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The Irish government, Harris said, “will continue to support the work of the Inquiry to ensure that victims are afforded the truth and justice that they deserve.”

The bomb that devastated Omagh town centre in August 1998 was the biggest single atrocity in the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

It came less than three months after the people of Northern Ireland had voted yes to the Good Friday Agreement.

Three days after the attack, the Real IRA released a statement claiming responsibility for the explosion.

It apologised to “civilian” victims and said its targets had been commercial.

Almost 27 years on, no-one has been convicted of carrying out the murders by a criminal court.

In 2009, a judge ruled that four men – Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly were all liable for the Omagh bomb.

The four men were ordered to pay a total of £1.6m in damages to the relatives, but appeals against the ruling delayed the compensation process.

A fifth man, Seamus McKenna, was acquitted in the civil action and later died in a roofing accident in 2013.

After years of campaigning by relatives, the public inquiry was established to examine if the Real IRA attack could have been prevented by UK authorities.

This phase of the inquiry was to hear powerful individual testimonies from relatives who lost loved ones in the explosion.

The bombers planned and launched the attack from the Republic of Ireland and the Irish government has promised to co-operate with the inquiry.

However, the victims’ relatives wanted the Irish government to order its own separate public inquiry.

Dublin previously indicated there was no new evidence to merit such a move.

On Wednesday Mr Greaney said members of the inquiry team had met officials from the Irish government on several occasions, most recently on 5 February.

He said it was their belief that the outstanding issues over disclosing information had narrowed.

He said they were waiting for a substantive response but it was understood a memorandum would be signed in March subject to the approval of the Irish government

The inquiry cannot compel anyone from outside the UK to give evidence.

Analysis: Julian O’Neill BBC News NI crime and justice correspondent

The Irish government has always promised full cooperation with what is a UK statutory public inquiry and they would see this memorandum of understanding as copper fastening that.

The big question that emerges from this is will it deliver all that is required and expected, because many victims’ relatives had wanted Dublin to establish its own parallel inquiry in its own jurisdiction.

I think people will want to be satisfied that this memorandum will fully deliver all that is required. At this moment, there may well be a question mark over that.

Right from the outset Ireland has been resistant to its own parallel inquiry. This was a terrorist attack conceived and mounted from the Republic of Ireland.

Some victims relatives would be concerned a UK inquiry will not get to the full truth if there is this significant blind spot.

People will want to digest this, see how it works in practice, but based on what has been said before by some relatives I think they will have their reservations.