Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On 15 November, when I was in the Middle East, my Department became aware of a Lebanese media report announcing that one of the individuals accused of the murder of Private Seán Rooney on 14 December last who had been in Lebanese custody had been released on bail. The case against this individual and the other defendants is due to resume in Beirut on 15 December.

In addition to the assistance provided by the Irish Embassy in Cairo and the honorary consulate in Beirut, my Department has also engaged the services of a Lebanese legal firm to represent the interests and concerns of the Irish Government at court hearings in this case.

Following the media reports, immediate inquiries have been made to establish the facts and circumstances relating to the release of the individual concerned. Those inquiries confirmed that he had been released on bail with the payment of a financial bond and the understanding is that the release was granted for medical reasons. Further inquiries are continuing to obtain as much detail as possible on this release.

The family are my absolute priority in terms of ensuring that they are kept immediately informed of any updates received by the Department, including the very disappointing news this week. I am not at all happy with what has transpired. In this regard, I met with Private Rooney's mother, Natasha, yesterday to update her on the progress of the investigations being carried out into her son's killing. I assured her of the Government's continued determination to ensure that justice is done in holding to account those responsible for this heinous crime. This is a point I strongly made again recently to my Lebanese foreign and defence counterparts as well as at the United Nations when I met the Secretary General, António Guterres, earlier in the year. I met with the Lebanese foreign minister during UNGA week in September in respect of this matter.

Given that this matter is now before the Lebanese judicial system, I am not in a position to comment further at this time. My Department, the embassy in Cairo, the honorary consulate in Beirut will continue to monitor developments very closely. Our legal representatives can observe what is going on in the courts but cannot intervene in the court case per se.

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