Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 February 2013
272. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will confirm that there were earlier versions of the 2009 Coffey report that was prepared by Mr. Paul Coffey SC into the Stardust disaster of 1981; the reason the earlier report was not published; if that earlier report made different inferences or findings to the published report which was placed before Dáil Éireann; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7867/13]
View answer273. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to whether any key evidence in the 1982 Keane tribunal report was subsequently withdrawn in the years leading to the 2009 Coffey report or the Stardust disaster of February 1981; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7868/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 272 and 273 together.
I would like to begin, this being the anniversary of the Stardust fire tragedy, by expressing my continuing sympathy for all those affected by the fire, for whom this time of year must be especially difficult.
As the Deputy will recall, the Coffey Report acknowledged the original Tribunal's findings that there is no evidence that the fire was started deliberately and that its cause is unknown. I am not clear as to what the Deputy is referring to in terms of key evidence being withdrawn but am not aware of any recent developments with respect to evidence relevant to the cause of the fire, or to Mr. Coffey's conclusions.
Mr. Coffey submitted his report, which was dated 8 December 2008, to the Government on 10 December 2008 on the basis that he would be in a position to make minor amendments, corrections and clarifications prior to its publication. As was noted in the Dáil debate on the motions relating to the Report on 3 February 2009, Mr. Coffey made a number of amendments to the report and submitted his final report on 7 January. These amendments were made by Mr. Coffey to ensure the report's clarity and accuracy but did not result in materially different findings or recommendations. As is normal practice, the final report only was published on 23 January 2009.
