The Government will publish terms of reference for an independent inquiry into the Omagh bomb atrocity later on Wednesday, Lord Caine has said.
The Northern Ireland Office minister, speaking during a visit to a shared education campus in Limavady, said he was very pleased the Government was able to take the step.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris ordered the independent inquiry into the 1998 Omagh bombing last year in response to a court judgment that directed the Government to establish some form of investigation.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden died in the Real IRA bombing, took the legal challenge that resulted in the judge directing the state to act.
The dissident republican bomb exploded in the Co Tyrone town on August 15 1998, killing 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins.
Hundreds more were injured.
Lord Caine said: “On the Omagh terms of reference, they are being published today.
“I am very pleased we have been able to take this forward as a Government and deliver a public inquiry in response to the Gallagher judgment.”
The minister was asked about the need for a public inquiry into Omagh in the Republic of Ireland.
He said: “As far as the Irish government are concerned, I did raise this with them directly at the last meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.
I have always supported a public inquiry when it comes to Omagh
“It is something we will keep raising with them for sure.”
First Minister Michelle O’Neill said: “I have always supported a public inquiry when it comes to Omagh.
“I think that is really important that we allow those families to get to the truth, that they get to the truth that they have been campaigning for for many, many years.”
Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said: “We have discussed with the Irish government issues related to legacy.
“The Taoiseach (Leo Varadkar) was in Northern Ireland just a couple of weeks ago and I took the opportunity to urge full co-operation and collaboration with all public inquiries and investigations.”
