Irish government knows collusion would have occurred in Omagh bombing, says Ian Paisley MP after Minister Peter Burke said there was no new evidence to to call for a fresh inquiry south of the border

Earlier this year, NI Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris announced that an independent statutory inquiry will be launched in the UK to look at the preventability of the 1998 car bomb which devastated the Co Tyrone town and cost 29 people their lives.

However, Peter Burke, Irish Minister for European Affairs and Defence, said that no fresh inquiry could be warranted south of the border due to no new evidence coming forward.

In a statement to the News Letter, the DUP's Ian Paisley stated that the Irish government's viewpoint is a "dereliction of duty" and "a revelation about how they wish to run away from their responsibilities."

He added: “Let’s be clear, the bombers came from the Republic of Ireland, most certainly fled for sanctuary, after the bombing, to that jurisdiction.

"Importantly, the car used in the bombing and the planning and preparation for the bombing all emanated from the south of Ireland.

"Yet the Dublin government wishes to wash its hands of any investigation. They say they will cooperate with the U.K. but nothing else.

"The reasons for this reluctance by the Republic are obvious to me. They know that in all likelihood any inquiry will result in a finding that will make use of the word “collusion”.

"We, in Northern Ireland, already know this is an expansive word and relates as much to the failure to take actions as it does to the taking of a direct action. But the word implies so much more and is potently heavy with reprimand.

"The Dublin government knows that any inquiry on their side of the border will find that collusion in some shape or form occurred and they are running away from facing up to a possibility that more could have been done in their jurisdiction to prevent this awful atrocity."

Mr Paisley added that whilst the Republic has "been willing to sit on the sideline, point a finger of blame at the U.K. and the government agencies", they have also "fallen short when it comes to serving the needs of justice, truth and reconciliation."