The solicitor for families of two victims of a Dundalk bomb in 1975 claimed yesterday that a culture of secrecy and the grudging handing over of information by An Garda Síochána pertained to this day.
At an Oireachtas sub-committee on the Barron report on the bombing of Kay's Tavern in the Co Louth town, solicitor James McGuill said there should be an inquiry regarding the attitude of the authorities here to what they knew to be collusion between the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) and loyalist paramilitaries in the North in the 1970s.
A car bomb exploded outside the pub in Crowe Street on Friday, December 19th, 1975.
Hugh Watters (60) was killed instantly and Jack Rooney (60) died three days later. Mr McGuill, for the two families, said they maintained the position that the bombing justified a public inquiry.
The families gave distressing evidence last week at the way they were treated at the time and made the heartfelt plea that it should not happen to other families, he said.
One of the most important aspects of the Dundalk bombing was that there was a credible warning about it from the RUC, he said. It appeared, even to this day, that the gardaí could not establish there was a warning.
"We are talking about a culture of secrecy and grudging handing over of information which pertains to this day," Mr McGuill claimed.
To suggest that the warning could not be acted upon as it was vague was an affront to the families, he said. The culture remained not to leave a paper trail. "It is notable and disquieting that there is a complete lack of willingness by the gardaí to make files available to Hugh Mohan SC, legal adviser to the committee," Mr McGuill said.
The Garda had a policy of not giving a single document to the families. They asked for access and had been refused, he said.
Máire Hoctor TD (FF) said she understood the Garda Commissioner had given an undertaking that a named person would be available to assist families.Chairman Seán Ardagh said the commissioner undertook to provide a liaison person. Mr McGuill said that had not happened.
Two solicitors from the Pat Finucane Centre, Alan Brecknell and Pat O'Connor, also made submissions. Mr O'Connor said there was documentation proving there was collusion; it was regarded that as many as 15 per cent of the UDR had been infiltrated by loyalist paramilitaries.