In research carried out by Detective Superintendent John O'Mahoney, 70% of gardai said they thought the state prosecutor, DPP James Hamilton, should provide more information and assistance to murder victims' families.

O'Mahoney is a senior detective branch officer at the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI), the unit assigned to investigate all major homicides.

Although a review is now examining how the DPP's office might provide greater support to victims' families, Hamilton last week indicated that it was unlikely any change would occur in his office's policy of not informing murder victims' families about why, in some cases, charges were not brought against chief suspects.

In research published in the latest edition of the force's management journal, Communique, O'Mahoney said the issue of family liaison between the force and the families of murder victims was in need of "dynamic change".

"In cases of murder, the victim's family will want to know everything that is going on in the investigation and it is vital that this information is delivered in a timely and professional manner, " he wrote.

"An Garda Siochana should embrace strategic responsibility for the formulation and development of a family liaison policy during the investigation of murder."

O'Mahoney recommended that the force should select gardai who had the right psychological make-up to be competent in the role of liaison with victims' families.

Ninety percent of gardai said they believed their training was insufficient to prepare them to liaise with the families of murder victims, according to O'Mahoney's research, which was carried out through the Garda College.

However, 80% of the families who took part in the study expressed satisfaction with the support they received from members of the force during the murder investigation.

Legal representatives surveyed felt that, while the provision of greater support from the DPP's office to victims' families was important, a balance nonetheless had to be struck between increased communication and preserving the integrity of the legal process.