Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has rejected a call by Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (SF, Cavan-Monaghan) to have an international inquiry into the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. "Deputy Ó Caoláin knows that it would get us nowhere to set up an omnibus inquiry, involving people outside the State, without the involvement of the British government, the NIO or British security," said Mr Ahern.
Mr Ó Caoláin said that the independent international panel on collusion in sectarian killings had examined murders, including the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, organised from the "infamous" Mitchell farm at Glenanne, Co Armagh, which was a loyalist base.
"It concludes that in 24 of the 25 cases they examined there is 'significant and credible evidence of involvement of police and military agents of the United Kingdom, both directly and in collusion with loyalist extremists'," he added.
Mr Ó Caoláin said that they had also found that at least some police superiors in Northern Ireland knew of an expressed approval of instances of such conduct and that senior officials in London had information sufficient to put them on notice of the serious risk involved.
"This is the first truly international and impartial examination of collusion from a human rights law perspective," said Mr Ó Caoláin.
Mr Ahern said he had painstakingly followed all the issues referred to by Mr Ó Caoláin for the past number of years.
"We now have four comprehensive reports, mainly including new information not in the public domain when we started this work at the end of 1999," he added.
"All those reports contain recommendations, and work on them is being done, as it will continue to be. We have pressed the recommendations of Mr Justice Cory and will continue to do so. We have called for a full sworn inquiry into the case of Pat Finucane and his family under an act that will allow full investigation. We have co-operated with all the human rights groups on these issues."
