I welcome this Bill. It is certainly a long and overdue step that will allow Irish State bodies, serving and former members of An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces, civil servants and even former Ministers to give oral evidence before a High Court judge to assist the Omagh bombing inquiry. However, I want to be clear that this legislation arrives almost 28 years after the horror of August 1998 when 29 people, including a woman who was nine months pregnant and her unborn twins, were murdered in Omagh. For nearly three decades successive Governments made up of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Labour Party and the Green Party have failed those families, with delay after delay, broken promises and a shocking lack of political urgency. Even after the UK inquiry was established in February 2024 and Ireland gave its commitment in July 2024, it has taken until 2026 to bring forward this Bill. I want to take this opportunity to pay special tribute to my colleague and friend, Deputy Mattie McGrath, who is very vocal on this issue. Since 2013, Mattie has stood shoulder to shoulder with the Omagh families. He organised a delegation from the Omagh victims support group to brief Members of the Oireachtas on 1 May 2013. Just days later, on 8 May, he stood in this House during Leaders' Questions and called directly on the Taoiseach for a cross-Border public inquiry. He spoke of the courage of Michael Gallagher, who lost his 21-year-old son Aiden, and of all the families who have fought so bravely for truth and justice. Deputy McGrath has never wavered in that support and today the House should acknowledge his work on behalf of the victims. Justice delayed is justice denied. The families of Omagh have waited long enough. I support the passage of this Bill but I urge the Minister to ensure it is implemented without any further delays or foot dragging.

Sentiment score: 0.22