Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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551. To ask the Minister for Defence the steps he has taken with the Lebenese and Palestinian authorities to try and locate the remains of a person (details supplied) who was kidnapped on the 27 April 1981 from an Irish observation post outside the village of Dyar Ntar in South Lebanon. [24367/13]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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555. To ask the Minister for Defence if any progress has been made in case of a person (details supplied) who was kidnapped on the 27 April 1981 from an Irish observation post outside the village of Dyar Ntar in South Lebanon and whose body was never recovered. [24366/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 551 and 555 together.

Private Kevin Joyce and Private Hugh Doherty were serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), when on 27 April 1981, an observation post manned by them came under attack. Private Doherty was later found dead from gunshot wounds and Private Joyce was missing. Two inquiries have already been conducted into this incident, one by the United Nations in 1981 and the second by the Defence Forces in 1982. The incident and the disappearance of Private Joyce has also been the subject of ongoing investigation by successive Irish units in UNIFIL, including a Military Police investigation (1985) and an intensive investigation by 88th Battalion in 2000/2001, assisted by diplomatic efforts at the highest level, to endeavour to locate the whereabouts of Private Joyce.

To date, no information has been elicited to lead to the recovery of Private Joyce. However, the situation in UNIFIL is that the case remains open.