Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 February 2014
538. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide an update of his communication with the Stardust Victims and Relatives Committee; his views regarding the new evidence which has been placed in the public domain; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8174/14]
View answerAs I have previously indicated, nothing I have seen in the extensive correspondence from the Stardust Victims Committee to date, including the considerable volume of correspondence circulated recently, would be grounds for my taking a different view to the conclusions set out in the Independent Examination by Mr. Paul Coffey. That is, in the absence of any identified evidence, the most another inquiry could achieve would be another set of hypothetical findings, which would not be in the public interest. It had been indicated in reported statements that the Committee intended to present a submission concerning the cause of the fire on the occasion of the recent anniversary. Whether in that context, or at any other point, I will of course arrange for the examination as appropriate of any such submission, and for a response to issue to the Committee in due course. In saying this I should caution against raising unrealistic expectations about what can be achieved or appearing to suggest that the outcome of the Coffey examination can be set aside, simply on the basis that his conclusions are not accepted by some.
