Gardaí unit aims to answer queries on Troubles investigations

A new unit within An Garda Síochána (Irish police) will "endeavour" to answer questions about its Troubles-related investigations from victims and bereaved families.

The establishment of the unit was part of a deal between the British and Irish governments on legacy last September.

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said the development is "good news" for those "still seeking answers about the deaths of their loved ones".

But Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) MP Jim Allister said Dublin was engaging in "a cosmetic exercise".

Details of the unit have been published on the An Garda Síochána website.

It states that the unit, under a detective chief superintendent, is a central point of contact for victims and families in respect of Troubles-related investigations in the Republic of Ireland.

It will seek to answer questions and "where possible, a family report may be provided".

MPs voted on Wednesday to remove a measure providing conditional immunity from prosecutions for Troubles-era crimes from the legacy act.

On Thursday, Allister claimed the Gardaí unit was offering people "a helpline instead of an investigation".

He added: "What a contrast with the legacy mechanisms being set up by the UK government, which have been changed specifically because of Dublin's demands.

"It is an indictment of our own government that they are keen to bow to Irish pressure when the arrangements in the south are so derisory.

"In the Irish Republic there is to be no truth, no justice and no reckoning - merely a cosmetic exercise designed to manage victims' expectations while protecting the state from scrutiny."