The leader of the DUP has criticised the Dublin government’s new Troubles police unit, saying it is “unlikely to make any substantive difference” to victims.

Gavin Robinson was adding his voice to criticism of An Garda Siochana’s Troubles Legacy Liaison Unit, which was promised last September as part of a deal with the UK government and which is now up-and-running.

A day earlier Jim Allister had derided the unit – which will not actually investigate any crimes – as “a gross insult to victims” and “merely a cosmetic exercise designed to manage victims’ expectations”.

And UUP MLA Doug Beattie has previously described the unit in the pages of the News Letter as “toothless” and a “sham”.

placeholder image — DUP leader Gavin Robinson has joined in with criticism of the new Republic of Ireland police unit, referring to it as a 'switchboard'

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn meanwhile said this week: “I welcome the establishment of the new Legacy Unit within An Garda Siochana, as agreed in the Joint Framework.

"This is good news, above all for those still seeking answers about the deaths of their loved ones.”

The Joint Framework which he is referring to is the deal struck between the Labour government and the Republic of Ireland last September.

The deal will see the UK set up a Legacy Commission to investigate historic crimes, re-open Troubles inquests that were closed by the past Tory government, and has already seen it reactivate the ability to pursue civil cases concerning the Troubles, such as claims for damages.

Meanwhile the agreement promised that the Dublin government would "establish a dedicated unit within An Garda Siochana as a single point of contact for cross-border cooperation on Troubles-related cases”.

This unit will, “where possible, endeavour to answer questions that a family may have in relation to the investigation of a Troubles-related incident and provide a report to the family”.

Spelling it out more explicitly later, the Irish justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said “it will not be an investigative unit… the purpose of the unit is so that inquiries in Northern Ireland will have a direct contact with Garda Siochana, that they can come to the unit in the knowledge that their requests for information can be provided there as the central authority, rather than having to identify other locations where they can go”.

The text of the Joint Framework said that the Irish state is committed to “investigate all unresolved Troubles-related incidents within its jurisdiction”.

But Mr Robinson has told the News Letter: “The families of those murdered in the Omagh bombing have waited almost three decades for truth and justice.

"That atrocity was planned and prepared in the Republic of Ireland, yet to this day there has been no prosecutions and no public inquiry south of the border.

"The establishment of a new Garda Legacy Liaison Unit will raise expectations, but it cannot disguise the fact that the Irish Government has consistently failed to confront its own responsibilities in relation to legacy.

"They have been swift to criticise Belfast and London, but have failed to look in the mirror.

“Indeed, as an example, how many requests from ICRIR have been fulfilled by the Garda?

"The provision of a new phone line is unlikely to make any substantive difference.

"They need a change of heart, not a change of number.

“If Dublin is serious about legacy, it should start by explaining why those responsible for the worst terrorist attack of the Troubles were never scrutinised in a public inquiry and why victims’ families have been left without answers for nearly 30 years.

“A switchboard for enquiries is no substitute for truth and justice.”