The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has sent its file on the Creeslough tragedy to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Files from An Garda Síochána and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities regarding the October 2022 explosion, which resulted in the deaths of 10 people in the Co Donegal village, were previously submitted to the DPP.
The DPP will now decide whether or not to pursue charges in relation to the incident.
Donna Harper, whose daughter Leona (14) died in the explosion, said she was relieved to learn that the HSA’s investigation had concluded.
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“The DPP hopefully now has all the information and can press forward. We have been waiting for four years for all files to be completed and now that has happened,” she said. “We are hopeful now that we will not have to wait too much longer.”
Members of the families who lost loved ones in the petrol station explosion last week met Taoiseach Micheál Martin at Government Buildings.
The family members are seeking a public inquiry into the explosion, which ripped through the Applegreen Service Station on the afternoon of October 7th, 2022.
However, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has said he would prefer to see a criminal investigation completed before he decides whether a public inquiry is needed.
The investigation to date has resulted in hundreds of statements being taken about the cause of the explosion. It is widely suspected that a gas leak may have been the cause.
Following last week’s meeting with the families, a spokeswoman for the Taoiseach said he had an “open and constructive discussion with the families of those who lost their lives in the Creeslough explosion.
“He listened to the personal testimonies of the families and articulated his deepest sympathies for their loss and the trauma that they have suffered.”
She said Martin understood the “need for justice and for answers” and reiterated the importance of allowing the investigation to reach a conclusion.
