Family of Private Sean Rooney to receive previously undisclosed information about his death

Pte Rooney and his colleagues were just four minutes from the main highway into Beirut when their vehicle was fired upon in the southern Lebanon village of Al-Aqibiya.

Back in October, Pte Rooney's family expressed concern after the UN failed to respond to a request from a coroner for assistance in examining the circumstances of his death.

On Friday, the solicitor for the family of Pte Rooney, Darragh Mackin, said that this new report is "fundamentally important" and "directly relevant" to the coroner's investigation.

"That report is the investigation that occurs almost immediately after the event.

"The United Nations had access to the exhibits, to the witnesses, long before any other investigation," he told RTÉ Radio One's Morning Ireland programme.

According to Mr Mackin, the Rooney family was "left fighting a public battle" to receive information, which he believes should be "a basic requirement in a case like this."

"It's a credit to the family that they continue to persevere to get to this stage, and we look forward to seeing this information being provided.

"The information should be unrestricted, there should be no caveat, it should be provided to the coroner with all the supplementary materials, so that the coroner can actually exercise her function in assessing what is relevant," he said.

Mr Mackin said he would be disappointed if the family were to receive "anything less than the full report" for the simple reason that "the UN are no different to any other public body."

He also said that he believes that parts of the UN's investigation "point clearly in the direction of systemic failings."

"That is why we have always sought access to the report, it is one of many other pieces of crucial evidence in this case that need to be assessed and considered.

"And only when all of the relevant pieces are assessed and considered collectively can the truth be told," he said.

Commenting on the criminal process in Lebanon, Mr Mackin said "one must approach that with caution."

"I think we all know the difficulties that process faces, that is why the inquest to the family is of fundamental importance.

"It is an independent investigation that complies with international standards, it complies with international human rights standards, and it allows the family to engage in a process which allows them to access the material.

"It allows them to ask the relevant questions, and gives them a forum to which an independent conclusion can be reached.

"So for the family, the inquest is of central importance in the next stage of the process, and it is certainly a crucial factor in establishing the truth.

"And as many know, only when the truth is told can justice actually be done," Mr Mackin concluded.