2026-02-17

162. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Defence to report on any progress made in the investigations into the death of a Defence Forces member who was killed on duty in Lebanon (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12378/26]

What progress has been made in relation to those investigations that fall under the Minister's remit? I refer to the huge loss of Private Seán Rooney to his community, family, friends and comrades. I am talking about everybody in Newtowncunningham and across Dundalk. It is a matter of ensuring that we see the State playing its part in delivering truth and justice for the family of Private Seán Rooney.

I want to acknowledge Private Seán Rooney and the ultimate sacrifice he paid in his duty and service in the Lebanon and, of course, those who were with him on the day and who also suffered after what happened in the attack. I am absolutely committed to following on from the commitment of my predecessors, and everyone in this Chamber, in ensuring that we uncover the truth and get justice for Private Rooney, in particular for his family. I had an opportunity recently to meet the foreign affairs minister from Lebanon on a trip to Brussels. This is a case that I raised specifically with him and I asked for their continued support and engagement in trying to uncover the truth. In any engagement subsequent that I will have with my Lebanese counterparts, this will be raised. More broadly, it raises the case of how we ensure that our Defence Forces personnel are supported and protected when they are on peacekeeping missions or otherwise out doing their duty. We need to make sure this is the case, whether they are serving on peacekeeping missions or whether they are at home carrying out their duties more broadly. We will continue to engage with the Lebanese Government. We will continue to engage insofar as we possibly can on the ground to identify what has happened here to make sure that Private Rooney's family find the truth and get the justice they deserve.

I appreciate the sentiment and the promises the Minister has made. It is very important that we engage with the Lebanese. They made a number of promises, first of all to do everything they could with regard to apprehending Mohammad Ayyad, who was found guilty of the murder of Private Seán Rooney, and to appeal those other cases. I do not think anybody within this entire building or anyone you were to talk to throughout Ireland would be happy with the results. Some of the sentences were particularly disgraceful. What is the update in that regard? If the Minister does not have it, perhaps I can get it in writing. There is an engagement with the UN. Beyond that, we had the independent inquiry by Mr. Michael Delaney SC. Where is that at? It is vital that we have learnings from what happened to Private Seán Rooney, Trooper Shane Kearney and all those involved. We need to ensure that we have best practice, that we have truth and justice for the family, especially for Seán's mother, Natasha, and that we learn what we can from what was a dreadful incident. It would have been a lot worse had it not been for the bravery of Private Seán Rooney.

It is very difficult for family members when this has been going on for longer than any of us would like. I would like to be able to give the Deputy a fuller update on the floor this evening, but unfortunately there are a number of different processes under way at home as well as our engagement with the Lebanese forces and the Government there and with the UN, as the Deputy mentioned. Whenever an incident occurs, particularly one of this magnitude, it is essential that the UN engage with us so that we can work with it on making sure that there is a very clear and firm response and that where changes or adaptations need to be made to any mission to make sure that troops are kept safe, that is the case as well. There are a number of different strands under way at the moment. I appreciate how difficult this is for Private Rooney's family and for the other families as we are going through these different stages. It is my intention, as it is the Deputy's and everybody else's here, to get the answers we need as soon as possible so that we hopefully find ourselves in a situation where this does not happen again to any of our troops.

I agree with the Minister. I certainly hope that we do not have to deal with many more cases like that of Private Seán Rooney, who made the ultimate sacrifice. It is necessary that the State would follow through on that sacrifice. I accept what the Minister has said about there being many strands in operation. Perhaps I could be updated on where that independent investigation is and be given whatever information can be provided on the engagement with and progress by, or lack thereof, the Lebanese. That can be provided in writing. While I am here, and although I will be following up on this with the Minister later, are there any plans for updating the Army Pensions Act? I know there is a particular issue that is being dealt with and there is engagement with the Department at the minute. This is about ensuring that all families are treated right, particularly of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. That is the piece we need to do in both life and death.

I am happy to keep the Deputy updated on matters, first and foremost to keep the family updated and working closely with the Defence Forces. I am happy to update the Deputy on this and on any other matters relating to pensions.