Barra McGrory: Number of Troubles-related prosecutions 'likely to be very low'
- Published
The Director of Public Prosecutions (PPS) has warned that the number of prosecutions for legacy related cases is likely to be very low.
Barra McGrory told BBC Talkback that recent cases had shown how families do not always get the justice they want.
Mr McGrory suggested that pursuing such legal actions could diminish public confidence in the judicial system.
He also urged politicians to take "stock" on some of the difficulties related to legacy cases.
'Hard reality'
The PPS Director said his biggest challenge so far had been dealing with people's perceptions of the prosecution service and its decisions.
"A lot of people put a lot of store in the results of the criminal justice system. Those who are victims, those related to victims and those who are brought before the criminal justice system as defendants," he said
"There's an awful lot at stake and we are the organisation, or the agency, which is responsible for the delivery of prosecutions. If they do or don't succeed, people will attach responsibility to us," he said.
Mr McGrory said that although much work has been done to ensure maximum public confidence in the PPS, there was a risk that it could be diminished by the low number of legacy prosecutions.
"The number of successful prosecutions is likely to be very low. That is the hard reality.
"Look at this week - the criticisms and bitterness and disappointment that has been brought about in two cases.
"Let's multiply that by many, once we embark upon the investigation and potential prosecution of the four decades of the conflict."
'Evidence'
Regarding the case against a man charged with the 1998 Omagh bombing, Mr McGrory said he was disappointed it had collapsed.
"People weren't necessarily expecting another criminal case in Omagh. It would have been easy not to take it - it would have been risk averse, but I didn't think that was the right thing to do," he said.
"The difficulty is that once we take the case, expectations are raised, people have to relive the trauma, and the case ultimately had to be withdrawn because significant difficulties arose in respect of the evidence."
However, he said that this case was not unique. On Tuesday, it was announced that a soldier would not be prosecuted over the 1972 killing of teenager Daniel Hegarty.
"The Public Prosecution Service is well capable of prosecuting any crime if it has the evidence," he said.
"The problem with what is termed as legacy cases is that as we've seen this week - not just in Omagh but the older case is - the less likely the evidence will be of sufficient quality to bring it to a criminal court," he said.
Mr McGrory also had a direct message for politicians: "When the elections are over and when they sit down to revisit the issue, stock needs to be taken on some of the difficulties.
"I'm not just entirely sure how much those difficulties have been weighed, and the balance here in the decisions of leadership that they must make - that's for them to consider," he said.