Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On 6 June, the Secretary General and the Chief of Staff had a long meeting with the family. The findings and recommendations of all courts of inquiry are confidential in accordance with Defence Forces regulations. The family received a copy and the Minister has discretion to direct the full court of inquiry report to be made available to interested parties and, in this instance, the former Minister provided the family with a copy of the report. Following on from that, he received a series of correspondence from the family in which allegations were made in respect of a wide range of issues relating to the tragic accident, including the conduct of the court of inquiry. Legal advice had to be sought from the Attorney General and the former Minister, having considered the matters in the context of the advice, was satisfied that a further investigation was not warranted into any issue relating to the tragic accident. The family was informed accordingly. A number of meetings were then held with the family at which their concerns were discussed. The Deputy will appreciate, given the sensitivities involved in such circumstances and the requirement to obtain legal advice, that the matter has taken some time to progress.

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