Relatives of the Omagh dead, political representatives and others have reacted with dismay to the findings of the Nally report given to the Dáil on Tuesday.
The Nally investigation, headed by Mr Dermot Nally, found there was no foundation to allegations that the Garda failed to pass on information to the RUC that could have prevented the Omagh bombing. It concluded that charges levelled by a Donegal-based garda detective sergeant did not stand up to scrutiny.
The Police Ombudsman's office in the North declined to make any official response. However it understood that Mrs Nuala O'Loan's office reacted with both surprise and disappointment to the revelations of the committee's findings.
Her spokesman would only confirm last night that Mrs O'Loan met the Nally committee once and provided a 57-page document which referred to the allegations made by a Donegal garda, Det Sgt John White, that the "Real IRA" bombing of Omagh in 1998 could have been prevented.
However, The Irish Times understands that Mrs O'Loan visited Dublin on two occasions on matters linked with the investigation of the atrocity which claimed 29 lives.
Last night, the Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, said: "In view of the degree of preparatory work which was carried out by the Ombudsman and her staff, which formed the basis of the work of the Nally group, I believe it is appropriate that the Government should provide her with a copy of the Nally report on a confidential basis and request her comments on its findings."
Relatives of the Omagh dead were critical of the withholding of the report. Mr Victor Barker said he was disturbed by the decision. "Why has it taken all this time to come up with a conclusion of a report which basically denies all the allegations that have been made?"
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr McDowell, yesterday rejected charges that Mr Nally had failed to keep a promise to meet Mrs O'Loan before he finally reported.