Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 July 2015
6. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide an update regarding investigations by her Department into the Stardust tragedy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27054/15]
View answerMy question is to ask the Minister for an update regarding the new evidence provided to her Department by the Stardust victims' committee in regard to the cause of that fire that tragically took place in 1981. Has she an update on that and when will her Department make an official response to the new evidence that has been presented?
I am very conscious of the deep impact the fire at the Stardust in 1981 has had on individuals and families concerned, and on the wider community. I met the Stardust Victims and Relatives Committee last year and that meeting provided me with an opportunity to hear at first hand the ongoing concerns of the committee in regard to this tragic event.
The Deputy will be aware that these events were the subject of a tribunal of inquiry which reported in 1982 and an independent legal examination which reported in 2009. The report of the independent legal examination concluded that in the absence of any identified evidence as to the cause of the fire, the most another inquiry could achieve would be another set of hypothetical findings, which would not be in the public interest. The then Government, as the Deputies present will be aware, accepted those findings and motions were passed in both Houses of the Oireachtas endorsing those conclusions and expressing sympathy with the families.
Following my meeting with the committee and hearing the representatives' concerns, I appointed an official in my Department to liaise with the committee and who has engaged with representatives of the committee in the intervening period.
A researcher associated with the committee, who is known to the Deputy, submitted material relating to these events to my Department and a meeting was held with the researcher and another person associated with the committee. The material previously submitted and the matters raised at that meeting have continued to be examined in my Department.
I wish to advise the Deputy that some of the matters the committee raised, which it raised with me previously, are subject to a Garda investigation, and that is ongoing and quite complex at present. I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that it is, as I have said, a complex investigation and I cannot do anything that might cut across that investigation, but there has been ongoing contact with my Department and a range of material has been submitted which has had further analysis. I will be back in contact with the committee in regard to that analysis.
I thank the Minister for her response but the victims' committee is anxious about the delay in receiving a response to the new evidence that has being brought to light which is being examined by her Department. Can she give a commitment that it will be examined in a timely manner? The Minister said she meet the victims' committee, which was very much appreciated, but that was more than a year ago. I know there was an issue about evidence being presented and then being taken back but that evidence is now with her Department. Can she make sure that the most qualified people examine that information and that a decision on it will be made in a timely manner?
As the Deputy is aware, the evidence that was given to my Department was withdrawn. We made every effort to have the evidence presented to us again so that we could examine it in good faith. We did that and that has happened. It is complex material. It is partly composed of, and makes reference to, among other things, a report of the tribunal of inquiry, transcripts of evidence to the tribunal of inquiry and the report of the independent legal examination.
I assure the Deputy that we have been examining the material. A specific official has been assigned to examine it. A great deal of time and effort has been put into examining the material to try to analyse what is new. Is there new material? Is it different from the evidence presented previously? It is complex. If it was simple it would have been done before now, and I remind the Deputy that there have been two investigations already. We will be in contact with the committee again shortly and will be responding to the material that has been given. It is up to the committee then to come back to us.
I thank the Minister and ask her if she will make a commitment to contact the victims' committee over the coming weeks. Can she shed any light on the allegations made to An Garda Síochána? Can she give an update to the House regarding that? I know she does not want to cut across an inquiry the Commissioner has organised but has she anything to report to the House on that matter?
Yes. As I said, we are taking the material that has been given to us seriously. There is an individual officer assigned to it who has put a huge amount of time and effort into going through the material and responding to many telephone calls and contact from the committee. That contact will be made, and we will revert to the members of the committee asking for comment on a variety of issues.
With regard to the investigation, when I met the committee the members raised concerns with me which I do not want to put on the floor of the House now because they are the subject of the Garda investigation. When they were told to me I did say to the committee members that they should report any details they had relating to that particular issue to the Garda. There is a Garda investigation and it continues.
I will take a brief supplementary from Deputies Broughan and Mac Lochlainn.
I thank the Minister also for the responses. Is it the case that the Garda investigation of some aspects of this desperate tragedy of 1981 would not preclude the Minister from immediately setting up a commission of investigation under the McDowell 2004 legislation?
I have had the opportunity to meet with the families on a number of occasions and the Minister will know that they remain deeply traumatised. There is a deep sense of injustice in regard to the inquiries and reviews that have taken place over the years. My personal opinion, based on evidence I have seen, is that justice was not served. If I am correct, that is appalling because this tragedy resulted in the biggest loss of life in the history of the State. I appreciate that the Minister is facing a wide range of reviews and allegations across spectrums of Irish society, but this one is of huge importance not just to the families but to the Irish people. Whatever support the Minister's Department officials can give should be provided. The families have limited resources but what they have put together with those limited resources is impressive, and they deserve a chance to revisit this entire issue.
I remind Deputies of the facts of the situation of the independent legal examination, which reported in 2009 and was accepted by the Government of the day, and an apology given, and the view that at this point another inquiry would not be possible. To quote, "the most another inquiry could achieve would be another set of hypothetical findings, which would not be in the public interest." That is what was said in 2009. However, notwithstanding that, I have met the committee. I have got the new material. I want to have the fullest possible information available to me before making any decision as to how the issue might be progressed. I know the committee members are extremely anxious about this issue. As the Deputy said, it was the greatest loss of life in tragic circumstances. A draft preliminary examination of the material has now been completed. I will be going back to the committee and asking for the members' response, and I will then examine what they have to say. There are some other issues which they have brought to my attention as well.
