Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome that confirmation and the Minister's intervention following the submission of this question. When I met with the family, I also met with a number of members of the Defence Forces who served in Lebanon at that time. They have a detailed understanding of the issues involved in terms of the initial investigation by Colonel Savino. The colonel did not interview any of the team on the ground, bullet casings went missing and there were issues regarding the isolated nature of the observation post. There are a number of issues that the family, as lay people like me, do not understand. It would be only fair to the family if two members of the Defence Forces who served on that day would also be permitted to attend so the meeting can be constructive. Indeed, as I suggested previously, they would be happy to submit an agenda to the Minister and his departmental staff in advance of the meeting so they can see and prepare for the issues they intend to raise. Will the Minister allow two members of the Defence Forces who were there that day to accompany the family? It would assist in making the meeting constructive. I know the Minister wishes to get the answers as to what happened as much as anybody else.

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