The Government today ruled out a cross-border inquiry into the Omagh bombing until court proceedings into the atrocity are completed.
South Armagh electrician Sean Hoey is currently facing charges in relation to the Real IRA massacre in August 1998 in which 29 people died.
The Omagh victims group have demanded a probe by the British and Irish governments into the police handling of the bombing.
But the Minister for Foreign Affairs today told the families at a 90-minute meeting in Dundalk that the criminal investigation must take its course before any public inquiries can be considered.
Mr Ahern's spokesman said: "The minister fully recognised the concerns of the families but he has consulted the Irish Justice Department on the issue and its advice was that any inquiry is inappropriate while criminal proceedings are pending."
However Mr Ahern offered funding from his department to assist the Omagh families in running its victims group. During today's meeting, Mr Ahern also paid tribute to the families on their seven-year campaign for justice.
The Omagh victims group has already met the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Archbishop Sean Brady, to back their plea.
And Opposition party leaders have criticised Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's government for failing to publish in full a report it commissioned into Garda intelligence handling at the time of the attack.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan was among those killed in the Omagh blast, insisted the Irish authorities should back their campaign in the same way they lobbied for a new tribunal into the 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings in Derry.
Speaking after today's meeting, Mr Ahern said justice must be seen to be done in relation to the Omagh bombing and the Dublin-Monaghan bombings and the killing of Dundalk forestry worker Seamus Ludlow in the 1970s.
"It is vital that the truth must come out in all these cases," he said. I'm determined to ensure that the full facts of what happened will emerge."