Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 18: To ask the Minister for Defence if the court of inquiry reports, prepared by the Defence Forces, are available to the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25946/05]

Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 35: To ask the Minister for Defence the position with regard to the publication of court of inquiry reports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25953/05]

Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 41: To ask the Minister for Defence if court of inquiry reports, undertaken by the Defence Forces, are available for public inspection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25951/05]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 18, 35 and 41 together.

Courts of inquiry are internal military inquiries. A court of inquiry may be convened by a prescribed convening authority under the provisions of Defence Force Regulations A5 and Part III of the Rules of Procedure (Defence Forces) 1954, SI No. 243 of 1954. The purpose of a court of inquiry is to allow the convening authority to take such action as he may deem necessary in respect of the subject matter of the inquiry. The confidentiality of such a court is based on the fact that the subject matter of a court of inquiry normally relates to a particular individual or individuals. Other than as a prelude to charges, it may also lead to other action as recommended by the court. There may also be security or operational implications arising from such an inquiry. Paragraph 11(2) of the Defence Force Regulations A5 provides that:

The findings and recommendations of all courts of inquiry shall be treated as confidential. They shall not be disclosed to interested parties, except as provided in subsection 181(2) of the Defence Act, 1954, Rules of Procedure (Defence Forces), 1954 and Defence Force Regulations A.8 unless otherwise directed by the Minister.

Section 181(2) of the Defence Act refers to a situation where a court of inquiry is held prior to trial by court martial. The proceedings and findings of military courts of inquiry are, therefore, not generally available for public inspection. However, courts of inquiry documents have been made available on request, in certain cases, to the immediate families of deceased members of the Defence Forces who have died as a direct result of military service. While such requests are considered on a case by case basis, every effort is made to deal with such requests from bereaved families in a compassionate manner, subject to security considerations and legal implications as regards third parties relevant to the particular case. It should be emphasised, however, that UN boards of inquiry documents are a different matter. Such documents are internal documents of the UN and are the property of the UN. They are supplied to national state authorities on the specific condition that they cannot be released or made public in any manner. This prohibition comprehends and encompasses judicial proceedings.