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

To clarify, the Minister agrees that a couple of members of the Defence Forces who were there that day can be at that meeting. That will be immensely helpful to the family. I appreciate that if that is what the Minister has agreed.

Second, and this is an issue on which I will probably follow up in correspondence, there were ongoing efforts over the years to try to engage with the authorities in Lebanon and with the Palestinian authorities to see if they could assist in locating the body of Private Joyce. There was an initiative in 2001 in which Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association, PDFORRA, representatives met with the then Minister for the Displaced in Lebanon, Marwan Hamadeh. He is still alive and is a very much respected figure. Would there be some benefit in asking our Defence Forces representatives to re-engage with them? I appreciate that it is an extremely difficult and challenging task after all these years, but I can assist with any re-engagement in terms of the personnel who met with the Minister at that time. He appeared to take a great interest and to wish to pursue the matter vigorously.

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