Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In 1998, 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, died when the dissident republican group, the Real IRA, detonated a car bomb which ripped through the County Tyrone market town of Omagh on 15 August. More than 200 people were injured in the blast. The attack was described as Northern Ireland's worst single terrorist atrocity and by the then British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, as an appalling act of savagery and evil.

At the 2004 Fine Gael Ard-Fheis, the Taoiseach promised that any government led by him would never lie about secret contacts with the Real IRA. More important, he saluted the families and the survivors of the Omagh bombing. He spoke directly to those families who were present: "You will get the truth and so will Ireland because Fine Gael is not alone in its commitment to honesty, honest politics and honest government." He further stated: "A government and its Ministers must keep their word because that is the standard should set and demand." Those families are here in the Visitors Gallery if the Taoiseach wishes to salute them.

We are familiar with the Taoiseach's report cards and score sheets for his Ministers. I hold him accountable today for his own scorecard and for what he promised. Representatives of the Omagh bombing families are here today in the Gallery, led by Mr. Michael Gallagher, who lost his 21-year-old son, Aiden, in the attack. These families have waited long enough for the full truth to be disclosed. On 19 July 2012, a comprehensive report was served to the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, calling for a full cross-Border public inquiry. To date, the families have had no meaningful response from the Government and neither are they aware of any actions that the Government has taken in light of this information.

Will the Taoiseach explain to the families today why there has been no meaningful response to the comprehensive report submitted to the Minister for Justice and Equality? Will he explain to them or even indicate to them what actions, if any, the Government has taken in light of the extensive and verifiable information presented by the families? If no action has been taken since last July, will the Taoiseach explain to the families why this is the case, given his previous acknowledgement that working to obtain the truth about Omagh was a duty he held in the highest regard?

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