Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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28. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will outline any draft or preliminary conclusion he has reached regarding the report submitted to him by the Omagh victim support group especially relating to the call for a independent cross-Border public inquiry; if he will meet the representatives of the families in view of the numerous assurances that they would be engaged in; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19295/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The bombing at Omagh in August 1998 was contemptible act of mass murder that will live long in the memory as among the worst terrorist atrocities ever committed on this island.

As I have stated to the Deputy previously, I met with members of the Omagh Support and Self-Help Group in July 2012. At that meeting the Group raised with me a number of issues of concern it has with regard to events surrounding the Omagh bombing. The Group also presented me with a copy of a document it has compiled setting out these concerns in support of its call for a public inquiry into various matters surrounding the Omagh bombing.

I have been in the process of finalising a detailed consideration of the matters which have been raised insofar as they relate to this State and to the Garda Síochána. However, given the detailed and sensitive nature of the material contained in the document, that consideration could not be expected to be concluded quickly and it has required some time for the matters raised to be given full consideration.

However, as the Deputy will be aware, earlier this month a man was arrested in Northern Ireland and has been charged with the 29 murders caused by the bomb at Omagh. In these circumstances, I believe it is appropriate and the safest course of action to postpone finalising my consideration of the matters raised by the Omagh Group until the prosecution process in Northern Ireland has been completed. We all share a desire for those persons who carried out the terrorist bombing at Omagh to be made amenable to the courts for their abominable actions and I believe we must all be careful to ensure that we do not do or say anything that could in any way be interpreted to interfere with that process.

I have communicated this view directly to the Omagh Group. It is, of course, understandable that the Group wishes to receive a response to its concerns and I remain anxious to ensure that can take place as soon as is prudent.