Minister Jim O’Callaghan obtains Government approval for priority drafting of legislation to assist the Omagh Bombing Inquiry
- Published on: 16 December 2025
- Last updated on: 16 December 2025
The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan has today obtained Government approval for the priority drafting of a Bill to enable the taking of oral testimony for the purposes of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry.
This is another important step in delivering on the Programme for Government commitment to facilitate and support the Inquiry.
The proposed legislation will provide a bespoke legal mechanism to facilitate the taking of sworn testimony from State bodies before a judge of the High Court.
Work will commence immediately on the drafting of the Bill with a view to it being in place for the Inquiry’s evidential hearings due to start next year.
The proposals will be sent to the Inquiry today to give the Chairman of the Inquiry an opportunity to comment on them and to engage with the Minister’s officials.
The proposed legislation is modelled on the mechanism contained in the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 2019 to enable the taking of oral testimony for the purposes of UK Troubles-related inquests.
Recognising the significance of the Omagh bombing, the legislation builds on the 2019 model. It includes new features aimed at maximising the evidential opportunities available to the Chairman of the Inquiry to fulfil his terms of reference and to enhance transparency. This is in the interests of the victims’ families and survivors and their search for truth and accountability.
The mechanism will be available to the Chairman over the full life time of the Inquiry and will allow for assistance to be sought as matters arise in the course of its work.
In making this announcement, Minister Jim O’Callaghan said:
“Obtaining Government approval to progress this legislation marks another important milestone in delivering on the Government’s commitment to facilitating and supporting the work of the Inquiry.
The legislation will add to the suite of measures already implemented. This includes the Memorandum of Understanding which I signed with the Chairman of the Inquiry last April relating to the disclosure of Irish State materials, and the Data Protection Regulations that I signed last month to enable the disclosure of sensitive personal data to the Inquiry.
Our commitment, alongside that of the UK Government, is essential to addressing the enormous impact of Troubles-related violence and the legitimate needs and expectations of victims’ families and survivors who have long searched for truth and accountability. The KENOVA final report published last week is another forceful reminder of the appalling suffering from the brutality of the Troubles.
Assisting an inquiry established under the law of another sovereign state is legally complex and requires us to make every effort to find solutions. My proposals will provide a robust statutory framework that seeks to maximise the assistance to be provided to the Inquiry to fulfil its terms of reference while also safeguarding in so far as that is necessary the essential interests of the State and the rights of witnesses involved.
I am publishing the proposals today and sending them to the Inquiry to provide an opportunity for comment should the Chairman and his team wish to do so.
I will consider any reasonable accommodations that they may seek during the drafting of the Bill.
The need for any further action to be taken by the Government in the course of, or following the conclusion of the Inquiry, will be kept under review.”
The General Scheme will be referred to the Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.
Notes
The Omagh Bombing Inquiry was established by the UK Government on 21 February 2024 to investigate whether the bombing could have been prevented by the UK state authorities. Its terms of reverence are available on the Inquiry’s website.
The Government decided on 9 July 2024 to assist the Inquiry and signalled that intention at the first preliminary hearing of the Inquiry on 30 July 2024.
A Memorandum of Understanding is in place between the Government and the Inquiry regarding the disclosure of Irish State materials.
The Regulations under section 2B of the Data Protection Act 1988 and the directive issued to the Garda Commissioner under section 37 of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 to support the co-operation by An Garda Síochána with the Memorandum of Understanding are available here.
Summary of proposals in the General Scheme
The proposed legislation will amend the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 2019 to provide a bespoke mechanism to facilitate the taking of sworn testimony from State bodies before a judge of the High Court at the request of the Chairman of the Inquiry.
The proposed legislation is modelled on the mechanism contained in section 3 of the 2019 Act to enable the taking of oral testimony for the purposes of UK Troubles-related inquests but includes a number of important new features.
These new features include extending the mechanism to other State bodies (in addition to An Garda Síochána) and to both current and past members of An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces and departmental officials. Core participants to the Inquiry, principally family members and survivors and their legal representatives, will be facilitated to be present and hear first-hand the evidence given before the High Court judge. The new features also enable the Chairperson or Counsel to the Inquiry to ask questions to clarify evidence given by a witness to the judge.
The mechanism will be triggered by requests from the Chairperson of the Inquiry to the head of the State body concerned. The request will specify the questions that the Chairperson is requesting be asked and may specify serving and former office holders from whom the Inquiry wishes to hear. The head of the body will consider the request.
The grounds on which the request may not be acceded to either in whole or in part are limited to those that are necessary to prevent prejudice to the sovereignty, security of the State and other essential interests of the State and to meet obligations to investigate crime and protect life. Prior consultation is required with the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (and where relevant the responsible Minister) before a decision to not accede to a request may be made. The reason grounding any such decision must be notified to the Chairperson.
The legislation addresses a range of procedural matters including the designation of witnesses and the nomination of the High Court judge who will act as the conduit for the evidence.
The witnesses will be entitled to the privileges and immunities available before the High Court.
The participation of former members or officials is on the basis of their written consent.
The transcript of the evidence will be made available to the Chairperson. The publication of the transcript will be a matter for the Chairperson.
The mechanism will be available to the Chairperson over the full life time of the Inquiry and will allow for assistance to be sought as matters arise in the course of its work. This includes providing a means of following up on any new matters that may arise from the evidence given.
A copy of the General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (International co-operation) (Amendment) Bill 2025 is available here.
Joint Framework addressing the Legacy of the Troubles
The Minister intends to bring forward separate legislative proposals in the Spring to progress implementation of the Government commitments in the Joint Framework, including the matters of cross-border co-operation and the establishment of the Independent Commission for Information Retrieval, formally approved by Government on 1 October 2025.