International Co-operation (Omagh Bombing Inquiry) Bill 2026: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-13
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Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

I thank Senators for their contributions and acknowledge support across the House for the legislation I am introducing to the Seanad today. Obviously, the purpose of this legislation is to try to deal with the issue of legacy. Legacy is a big issue in Ireland that probably was not dealt with in the way people envisaged it would be. The reason legacy arises is that in many instances justice has not been delivered.
When a bomb was placed in Omagh in August 1998 in the knowledge that it would create havoc and murder and mayhem, the people responsible for that are the people who planted the bomb in Omagh on that day. Senator Gallagher raised some of the history of prosecutions in respect of this atrocity. Unfortunately, there have not been convictions before the criminal courts that have been sustained and that the families could refer to and point out the people who are responsible for the murder of their family member. We know the Real IRA was responsible for the atrocity, but the individuals have not been fully brought to account before the courts so that people can say justice was done.
In circumstances where the families can point to a court determination that justice has been done, the states, Ireland and the United Kingdom, tried to fill the gap by saying that although we may not be able to deliver justice, we will try to deliver answers. That is why inquiries are necessary and why the Omagh bombing inquiry is happening at present. As I have repeatedly said to families, however, inquiries, tribunals of inquiry and commissions of investigation do not deliver justice. They provide answers to questions being asked by the authorities. Ultimately, the real question the families of the Omagh victims want answered is who is responsible for this atrocity. There are people out there who have that information. If they have that information, they should bring it before the inquiry or to the attention of the PSNI. In circumstances where that has not happened, and it has not happened in this case for 28 years or so, it is necessary for the states to step in to try to provide some answers, even if justice cannot be provided.
The Bill we are dealing with is specifically in respect of the Omagh bombing, the worst atrocity of the Troubles. We have been able to agree a mechanism between the United Kingdom and Ireland as to how this inquiry can be facilitated by this State. It is challenging and difficult when there is an inquiry or judicial process in one state that needs the co-operation or involvement of entities in the other state. That has always been a difficulty. Notwithstanding the outstanding co-operation that exists between An Garda Síochána, the PSNI and the judicial authorities on both sides of the Border, there is always going to be a challenge when different legal systems confront each other, as they do on the Border of this island.
That is why the legislation we are introducing here is so important. A decision was made by the United Kingdom Government and Parliament to establish a bombing inquiry into Omagh. There are obviously many documents and many people in the United Kingdom who would be able to assist that inquiry. I hope and presume that all relevant documentation possessed by police forces or intelligence agencies in the United Kingdom will be provided through the inquiry and be publicly available for inspection by the inquiry. I similarly hope that the persons who have evidence to give will give evidence so the chairman can hear the full detail of what occurred.
What we are doing here is trying to facilitate that, and we are doing it in a number of ways. First of all, I did it in April 2025 by entering into a memorandum of understanding with the chairman of the inquiry, which said that I would provide to the inquiry all relevant documentation concerning the Omagh bombing. That referred, in particular, to documents that An Garda Síochána has in respect of the bombing or of its investigations into the bombing. There were thorough investigations done, and obviously the Garda has documentation that may be relevant to the inquiry. It is a sign of the co-operation and commitment of An Garda Síochána, and of me and the Irish Government, that to date 29,000 pages of documentation have been provided to the inquiry under the memorandum of understanding. There is a mechanism set out. I am not sure if there were redactions, but if there were on grounds of national security or protection of sources, there is a mechanism to enable the inquiry to see behind those redactions. This is a memorandum of understanding that has been put in place to facilitate the inquiry. On top of that, I introduced changes to the data protection regulations last year to facilitate disclosure of information.
The last part of the preparatory work in advance of the hearings that this State is putting in place is this legislation. It will mean that if there is evidence that can be given by a member of An Garda Síochána or the Defence Forces, or a former Minister, that can happen. It can happen in this jurisdiction with the chairman of the inquiry here, and then the evidence given here can be transposed into the evidence of the inquiry in Omagh and relied upon for the purpose of his inquiries. In my opinion, that is a smart response to a legal difficulty that has arisen because of the two different jurisdictions.
Senator Clonan spoke about compelling people to give evidence. We can compel people in this jurisdiction to give evidence, but we cannot compel people to give evidence in another jurisdiction. When it comes to compelling people I believe that the overwhelming number of members of An Garda Síochána or officials who may need to give evidence will do so voluntarily, as will be the case with former Ministers, Taoisigh or whoever else needs to give that evidence. We had a template for this previously under the 2019 legislation, where co-operation was provided to the Kingsmill inquest. The coroner responsible subsequently commended the Irish Government on the co-operation that was given in respect of the Kingsmill inquest. We have seen that this is a type of mechanism that has been effective in the past, and I believe it will be effective in the future.
Ultimately, for an inquiry to reach findings and prepare a report, it can only do so based on evidence. The documents are not evidence unless they are adduced in evidence and proven by an individual. Similarly, we need oral evidence from persons who have information. Unfortunately, I suspect we will not find out the persons responsible for the atrocity through the inquiry. What the inquiry seeks to do is identify whether or not anything could have been done by the UK state to ensure that it was stopped or averted. The scope of the inquiry is, to the extent necessary, to investigate issues relating to whether the Omagh bombing could have been prevented by UK state authorities. For that purpose, the inquiry is obviously keen to find out what information An Garda Síochána had and provided to the RUC in advance of the bombing. It is a useful mechanism.
I thank Senators for their contributions. When we talk about legacy, inquiries, tribunals and commissions of investigation, let us not lose sight of the fact that the people responsible in this instance for the Omagh atrocity were the people who murderously parked a car in the centre of Omagh town with a large bomb in it. They are the people responsible for this and they have to face up to their consciences. People will be aware of that and there are people out there who have evidence they could give to the inquiry. That evidence should be provided by them. Rather than always looking to the Irish State and what the Irish State is providing, there are people out there who have information, and they should give that. As Minister for justice, I appeal for people with knowledge of this to come forward and give information.
However, most of these people were involved in or supported paramilitary activity, and regrettably the history of legacy matters to date has shown us that they will not give information. This does not take away from the responsibility that I and that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland have to ensure we can try to provide some answers for the families.
I reaffirm the Government's absolute commitment to co-operating with the Omagh bombing inquiry. We have done so to date and will continue to do so, notwithstanding any commentary in respect of it.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-13/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:56+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-13