Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Deputy Rabbitte has given a factual account of what happened and when the Nally report was published. The Omagh bomb case is before the courts and any new evidence will be examined. However, it has been the view all the way through that any information given to the Garda by the security forces was acted on long before the explosions. I cannot be certain of the facts but the relevant security information was acted on long before 15 August 1998. The bomb that was in preparation at that time was intercepted. I do not say the Deputy is talking about a different issue but the information was passed to the Garda by MI5. The information was acted on and the bomb that was in preparation was intercepted. It has been my understanding that the PSNI and the chief constable do not believe the account given by Sergeant White.

The Government will do everything it can to both help the Omagh victims and to support the ongoing investigation, into which significant resources have been put by the security services, North and South, and in England. We will continue to play our part in trying to get a satisfactory conclusion on that.

To be clear on the matter, if Sam Kincaid was talking about the information that was given to the Garda by MI5 — I cannot be certain that is what he was talking about — that information was acted on and the bomb that was in preparation was intercepted and dealt with.

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