This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/foyle_and_west/8403777.stm

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Call for McElhill public inquiry Call for McElhill public inquiry
(39 minutes later)
The West Tyrone MP has told the BBC there should be a public inquiry into the McElhill fire case as there are still too many unanswered questions. There should be a public inquiry into the McElhill fire case as there are still too many unanswered questions, the area's MP has said.
Sinn Fein's Pat Doherty said the performance of the statutory agencies involved needs to be looked at. On Tuesday, a coroner ruled that convicted sex offender Arthur McElhill killed himself and his family in a house fire in Omagh in November 2007.
"Why did they not spot all of this? There were previous warning signs." West Tyrone MP Pat Doherty said the performance of the statutory agencies involved needed to be looked at.
On Tuesday a coroner ruled that the convicted sex offender Arthur McElhill killed himself and his family in a house fire in Omagh, County Tyrone. The Department of Health has said it is not convinced an inquiry is needed.
He lit the fire when his partner threatened to leave him. Sean Holland, the department acting chief of social services, said the Toner Report had already highlighted the shortcomings in the system.
In the weeks before the fire he had been having sex with a 16-year-old girl and the coroner said McElhill's fear that the illicit relationship would be discovered may have also played a role in the tragedy. The report, which was carried out by Henry Toner QC, criticised how different agencies communicated information about the type of man Arthur McElhill was and the crimes he had already carried out.
'Traumatic'
Mr Doherty said he believed there was "enough previous history" around McElhill that the issues should have been "picked up and dealt with".
"I cannot see any way other than a public inquiry to get to the bottom of this because this is so huge, so traumatic and so hurtful to the whole community and to the extended family."
But Sean Holland, the Department of Health's acting chief of social services, said he was not convinced an inquiry would help.
"I think it's important to ask what more would we learn from a public inquiry?
"The Toner Report is a very detailed report, and it certainly doesn't spare any of the agencies who were involved.
"It's highly critical of a number of different agencies, so certainly there can be no accusation there's been a whitewash," he said.
In 2008, the health minister said there were "failings on the part of the health and social services" in the case.
Michael McGimpsey was speaking after an independent report said the authorities involved with the family could not have known what was about to happen.
The report, which was carried out by Henry Toner QC criticised how different agencies communicated information about the type of man Arthur McElhill was and the crimes he had already carried out.
It focused on social workers employed by the Western Health and Social Care Trust and highlighted how they had to be told by police that Arthur McElhill was a threat to teenage girls, even though the information was in his files and could be accessed by them.It focused on social workers employed by the Western Health and Social Care Trust and highlighted how they had to be told by police that Arthur McElhill was a threat to teenage girls, even though the information was in his files and could be accessed by them.
The Toner report made 63 recommendations about how agencies could interact more effectively in future. The report also made 63 recommendations about how agencies could interact more effectively in future.
"It is important to ask yourself the question, 'what more would you learn from a public inquiry?'" Mr Holland said.
"I have heard a lot of people talking about we must have a public inquiry and I'm not sure how many of them have actually read the Toner report.
"It is a very detailed report and certainly doesn't spare any of the agencies who were involved.
'Traumatic'
"It is highly critical of a number of different agencies, so certainly there can be no accusations that there has been a whitewash."
However, Mr Doherty said he believed there was "enough previous history" around McElhill that the issues should have been "picked up and dealt with".
"I cannot see any way other than a public inquiry to get to the bottom of this because this is so huge, so traumatic and so hurtful to the whole community and to the extended family," the Sinn Fein representative said.
In 2008, the health minister acknowledged there were "failings on the part of the health and social services" in the case.
A statement from the Western Health and Social Care Trust said it had implemented 54 of the 55 recommendations from the Toner report which were relevant to it.
"The trust continues to work towards completion of all recommendations, particularly focusing on the one outstanding issue in relation to the backlog of case conference minutes," it said.