The Nally report into claims that gardaí failed to pass on crucial information to the police in Northern Ireland that could have prevented the Omagh bombing has concluded there is "no foundation" for the allegations.
The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, told the Dáil this evening that he could only reveal selected elements of the report for security reasons.
He said the claim that gardaí had not passed on intelligence to the RUC was speculation and had not actually been alleged by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, Mrs Nuala O'Loan, whose report framed the terms of reference for Nally.
The report addressed the claims nonetheless saying the allegation that a senior garda was willing to allow a car stolen by an informant pass in the event such a scenario had arisen was "very serious".
It took the same view about the claim that gardaí failed to tell the RUC on the eve of the bombing that the RIRA, who had been trying to steal a vehicle in the Dublin area, had obtained one elsewhere.
"These are very serious allegations. However they are quite different from allegations that the Gardaí let the vehicle which was used in the bombing in Omagh go through or that they had intelligence about that vehicle . . . which they had failed to pass on to the RUC. No such allegations have been made to the group and no basis for any such allegations has come to its attention," Mr McDowell quoted the report as saying.
The group investigated the claim that Gardaí could have prevented three terrorist attacks in 2002: the mortar attack on the RUC station at Armagh on March 10th, the mortar attack on Beleek RUC station on May 9th and the bomb attack on Omagh on August 15th.
It also inquired into allegations of ministerial interference with the prosecution process as part of a ceasefire deal between the Government and the RIRA.
A third allegation of unlawful or improper conduct on the part of gardaí including claims that some officers encouraged or were complicit in criminal activity.
It found no evidence to support the claims.
Mr McDowell said he could not publish the report because it contained information that could endanger lives and the security of the State. He said he appreciated that relatives of victims of the Omagh bomb would be disappointed but that "no Minister for Justice" could publish the report.
The group was chaired by Dr Dermot Nally, former secretary to the government, assisted by former secretary of the Department of Justice, Mr Joseph Brosnan, and Mr Eamon Barnes, former director of public prosecutions.