AN investigation by the Police Ombudsman's Office into claims that the 1992 Teebane massacre could have been prevented has yet to get underway because of cuts in funding.
Eight Protestant workmen were killed in January 1992 when the IRA blew up their van as they travelled home from work at Omagh army barracks. Six other men were injured.
In 2014, a Co Tyrone businessman revealed he had warned the RUC of a planned attack on the construction workers.
He lodged a complaint with the Police Ombudsman claiming that police failed to act on the information he had but it has not yet been investigated because of financial restraints.
However the businessman has revealed that he met a senior Ombudsman invesigator recently to discuss his case.
"We were told my complaint has passed all the necessary criteria to warrant a full investigation by the Ombudsman,” he said.
He said it was "a disgrace" that eight men could be murdered and there be no investigation into the possibility that their deaths could have been prevented.
The businessman said he was pleased that Dr Maguire’s office believed his complaint warranted a full investigation.
“The Ombudsman’s office has obviously carried out an initial assessment of my complaint yet, because of what I believe is political failure, it is being denied the resources to investigate this.
“I know what I told the RUC in 1992. I have tried hard to bring this into the open but my efforts have been held up but I am determined that the full truth will be revealed.”
In a subsequent letter to the businessman, the Ombudsman’s Office listed ongoing live investigations and noted that it faced a number of cuts in its funding from the Department of Justice with a further reductions likely.
The Ombudsman’s Director of Investigations said: “It is with regret that I am still unable to provide you with a definitive timescale within which I would anticipate commencing an investigation of your complaint.”
A spokesman for the Ombudsman told the Irish News the businessman’s complaint could be investigated by the Historical Inquiries Unit (HIU) should it ever be established.
“We have concluded that these allegations are ones which require a full investigation. However, we are seeking to address around 400 historic cases within the restraints of limited resources and are not currently in a position to begin that work,” he said.
The businessman has been told the Ombudsman will update him further in October.
