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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 14 Dec 2017

Vol. 963 No. 3

McCartan Report on the Stardust Fire: Statements

The Stardust fire of 14 February 1981 was without doubt one of the greatest tragedies which has ever occurred in this State. Forty-eight young people went out that evening to enjoy a night out with friends and, as a result of this horrific tragedy, they never came home. Many more suffered horrific injuries. Their families have sought answers, and understandably so. Unfortunately, the subsequent Keane tribunal did not give them the answers they needed. It reached a conclusion that the fire was probably started deliberately. This was just one of a series of hypotheses proposed by the tribunal and should not have been elevated to the status of a conclusion, a point that Judge McCartan makes clear in his assessment report.

The Coffey report identified a way that the public record could be corrected by removing the conclusion that arson was the probable cause of the Stardust fire and this was done by way of a motion in this House. This was a very important step in removing the stigma that the families believed hung over the victims of the tragic fire. I will return to these issues, but first I wish to set out the actions that this Government has taken to facilitate the investigation of the evidence the committee wished to be assessed.

The programme for a partnership Government agreed in 2016 committed the Government to have full regard to "any new evidence which emerges which would be likely to definitively establish the cause of the fire at Stardust". Throughout 2016, there was extensive correspondence between the Stardust Victims Committee and the nominated official from my Department with a view to establishing whether any new evidence existed which would be likely to definitively establish the cause of the fire at Stardust, without being able to reach an agreed position. A motion was subsequently passed by this House on 26 January 2017, calling on the Government "to meet with the Stardust Relatives and Victims Committee regarding the new and updated evidence they have uncovered since reviewing Judge Keane's Report of the Tribunal of Inquiry on the fire at the Stardust, Artane, Dublin in 2006, to have that new and updated evidence assessed urgently by an independent person who has the trust of the families, and if the independent assessment confirms the existence of new evidence, calls on the Government to immediately establish a commission of investigation into the Stardust tragedy of 1981". The committee identified retired Judge Pat McCartan as an independent person who had its trust, following which officials from my Department contacted Judge McCartan to ascertain his interest or otherwise in taking on the role of assessing the new evidence. Judge McCartan expressed a desire to assist by taking on this role and was appointed by the Government on 7 March 2017.

The assessment process was governed by the Dáil motion and was conducted by Judge McCartan completely independently of Government. The scope of the assessment process tasked Judge McCartan to meet with the Stardust Relatives and Victims Committee regarding any new and updated evidence they have uncovered; assess any new and updated evidence that has been identified; seek submissions from any party identified in or directly affected by that evidence; recommend, and within 90 days of this process commencing, whether, in the circumstances, the evidence identified is sufficient to warrant establishing a commission of investigation into the Stardust tragedy of 1981.

Judge McCartan began his work on 27 March 2017 and he was provided with the discretion to afford the committee whatever representation he believed was necessary in order for the committee to present its evidence to the assessment process. The relevant daily rates payable were set by my Department and costs were borne by the Exchequer. The requirement for representation was to be assessed by the judge dependent on the nature of the evidence to be presented to him. The committee decided that its case would be presented by its researcher, Ms Geraldine Foy, who produced the committee's submission to Judge McCartan and costs were paid at a junior counsel rate. The committee also sought and were paid costs for its legal advisor.

It was envisaged that Judge McCartan would conclude his assessment process within 90 days. At that time, the intention was that the assessment process should commence at the earliest possible opportunity, particularly given the commitment in the Dáil motion for the assessment to take place urgently. Judge McCartan confirmed his availability to begin his work immediately, however, the committee chose not to engage with the judge until 3 May 2017 and did not present its submission to him until 6 July 2017. The reasons for these delays on the part of the committee related to the issue of historical moneys they believed they were owed. On that issue, officials in my Department met and corresponded with the committee and its advisors over the course of a number of months. These discussions were conducted separately to the independent Stardust assessment process, as the issue of historical moneys does not fall within the scope of the assessment process.

This matter and an additional matter involving breach of copyright claims were eventually referred to the Office of the Chief State Solicitor by my Department following contact with that office by solicitors acting for the committee in the first instance. My Department subsequently consulted with the Chief State Solicitor's office and also with the Office of the Attorney General in regard to these issues. These matters have since been pursued directly by the Chief State Solicitor's office, acting as my Department's legal advisor, and the legal advisors for the committee. A settlement meeting between the respective legal teams took place on 3 October 2017 without reaching agreement. Most recently, at a further settlement meeting between legal advisors for both parties earlier this week, a final agreement could not be reached. I told the committee when I met it yesterday afternoon that it was open to it to re-enter that process and we would work to try and reach an agreed solution with it. That offer remains open.

As a result of these external issues, there was a delay around the submission of the committee's evidence to Judge McCartan; the judge did not receive the submission within the anticipated 90-day period. Accordingly, it was necessary to extend Judge McCartan's appointment by four months to provide the judge with sufficient time to assess the committee's submission, when it was forthcoming, on 6 July, and produce the assessment report. My Department obtained sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to extend Judge McCartan's appointment to ensure the completion of the independent assessment process.

The Deputies will be aware that Judge McCartan's Stardust assessment represents the third assessment of evidence associated with the Stardust fire. The first assessment was the original tribunal of investigation chaired by Mr. Justice Keane in 1981.

The second assessment was an independent examination of the committee's case for a reopened inquiry and was carried out by Mr. Paul Coffey in 2008, culminating in the production of a revised report in January 2009. In order to establish whether the evidence presented by the committee to Judge McCartan constituted new or updated evidence, it was necessary for Judge McCartan to consider the Keane and Coffey reports and their associated conclusions.

The Keane tribunal concluded that the fire was "probably started deliberately". However, as indicated previously, this was just one of a series of hypotheses proposed by the tribunal and should not have been elevated to the status of a conclusion. The independent Coffey review concluded that the Keane tribunal did not reveal any evidence to support its conclusion that the fire was started deliberately and, as such, Keane's finding was deemed to be only a hypothesis. The Coffey review also concluded that neither the committee nor the Keane tribunal identified any evidence which established the actual cause of the fire.

Judge McCartan's report clarified the differences between the Coffey review report's first and final versions, given that the committee expressed the view that there were "dramatic" differences between the two versions of the Coffey review report. The committee contended that the first version of the Coffey review report recommended a public inquiry, whereas the final version does not. Judge McCartan identified that 27 paragraphs of the first version of the Coffey review report were changed, when compared with the final version of the report, but most of the changes noted were minor re-wordings. The main difference between the two versions of the Coffey review report, highlighted by Judge McCartan, was that the Government at that time identified a way to correct the public record established by the Keane tribunal and recommended that this solution be included in the final version of the Coffey review report. The judge emphasised that the Coffey review did not recommend a new inquiry into the Stardust tragedy without qualification, that is, only if it was not possible to correct the public record arising from the Keane tribunal.

Following a consideration of the committee's submission, Judge McCartan identified 17 issues that required examination. According to the judge, only one of these issues - the evidence of Ms Brenda Kelly - could be considered as new or updated evidence. However, he held that the issue concerned does not explain the cause of the fire and merely proposes a hypothesis. As such, Judge McCartan's report concludes, "Having considered all the material submitted by the Committee, there is no new or updated evidence disclosed in the meaning of the terms of this Assessment and no new enquiry is warranted".

Judge McCartan informed my Department that he was in receipt of additional, late material from the committee after he had already concluded his report. The judge wrote to the committee via its solicitor, confirming that he twice asked the committee for any further evidence to be submitted but never received a response. Despite having completed his report, Judge McCartan looked at the additional material sent to him. The judge subsequently informed my Department that this additional material did not constitute new evidence. As a result, the judge's report finding stands.

I would like to say that I sympathise greatly with the committee and all affected families for the terrible loss they have suffered and in relation to their ongoing search for answers over many years. The programme on RTÉ this week was another reminder of the unspeakable grief suffered by the family members. I met with the committee yesterday and understand that the committee is disappointed with the outcome of the independent assessment process. I acknowledge that Judge McCartan's report does not provide the outcome that the committee was seeking in finding that no commission of investigation is warranted. However, the Government complied fully with the Dáil motion in January to provide for the establishment of the assessment process. The assessment process was conducted completely independently of Government, in line with the Dáil motion. In this regard I acknowledge the work of my Government colleague, Deputy Finian McGrath, who over the past number of years has been anxious to ensure that every avenue has been pursued to reach truth and justice in respect of this issue. I acknowledge his work in respect of the agreed Dáil motion of earlier this year and acknowledge his work to ensure the McCartan-led report was up and running at the earliest opportunity.

I acknowledge the independence of Judge McCartan in the conduct of his work. Judge McCartan interpreted the scope of his independent process within the parameters of the Dáil motion. It was not open to me as Minister, nor to my Department or my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, to interfere with that process or direct the judge in any respect.

Judge McCartan's assessment report was formally submitted to my Department on 17 October 2017. The report was considered by my Department and was sent to the Office of the Attorney General for advices and guidance. I brought the report to the Cabinet meeting on 7 November 2017, following receipt of those advices. The report was accepted by the Government and furnished to the committee immediately afterwards, prior to publication. I published the report later on 7 November and also laid the report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on the same date in view of the fact that the assessment process was initiated on foot of a Dáil motion.

I would like to express again my gratitude to Judge McCartan for the work he undertook in preparing his report. I am grateful to him for his willingness to undertake this important public service. Judge McCartan indicated in his assessment that the grief experienced by the families:

...must be compounded by the failure of anyone to explain the cause of the fire. Due to the passing of time it is much harder today to find such an explanation and this Assessment must conclude that the cause of the fire may never be known.

The Government has fulfilled its commitment in relation to assessing the new evidence and does not believe that any further investigation will provide the answers that the committee is looking for. Before I conclude, I acknowledge the work of Deputy Finian McGrath and of other Deputies in the local area. I would like, once again, to sympathise with the committee and all of the families affected by the Stardust fire. I understand that each of you will never forget this terrible tragedy and will carry heartbreaking loss and memories with you for the rest of your lives.

One minute remains.

I would appreciate some flexibility. First, as a public representative in this area, I have worked for over 20 years with the Stardust Relatives and Victims Committee, and other families who suffered a tragic loss as a result of the horrific Stardust fire on 14 February 1981 to assist them in their efforts to find answers. This tragic fire caused the deaths of 48 young people and serious injury to another 128, who were mostly aged between 18 and 25 and came from the local area including Artane, Kilmore, Coolock and Edenmore. The Stardust fire was one of the greatest disasters in the history of this State and is seared into the collective memories of all the residents of the north side. It had, and continues to have, a devastating impact on survivors, friends and family members of those killed and injured. I acknowledge the hurt and unbearable loss that those families still feel.

The RTÉ programme earlier this week, "After the Headlines", reminded the country how much pain and suffering the families have been through. In negotiations over Government formation in 2016, my participation was contingent on the Stardust tragedy being included in A Programme for a Partnership Government and the following was included on page 107 of the final document: "Full regard will be had to any new evidence which emerges which would be likely to definitely establish the cause of the fire at Stardust."

As outlined by my colleague the Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan, Judge Pat McCartan's report followed a motion passed by the Dáil last January which called on the Government to establish an independent Stardust assessment to evaluate the claim of the new and updated evidence presented by the Stardust Relatives and Victims Committee relating to the Stardust tragedy. Judge Pat McCartan was chosen by the committee as an independent person who had the committee's trust. Judge McCartan was agreeable to taking the role of the independent assessor and was appointed by the Government on 7 March 2017.

My door is always open, as is that of this Government, to find truth and justice for the families.

The fire which took place on the morning of 14 February 1981 in the Stardust nightclub in Artane was absolutely horrific. The loss of life and the widespread injuries sustained by so many people make it one of the greatest tragedies in modern Irish history. Of the 700 young people in attendance that night, 48 never came home and 128 were seriously injured. Devastated survivors and families and the wider local community all struggle to come to terms with the scale of the disaster and its aftermath, and for some the struggle continues.

I too watched the RTÉ documentary last Tuesday entitled "After the Headlines", in which Charlie Bird recently interviewed some of the families caught up in the fire. It is clear that for some of the families of the victims and the survivors the aftermath of the Stardust fire is still very much a part of their everyday lives. I was 20 at the time of the fire and I have lived in north Dublin all my life.

I had been to the Stardust night club on occasion. The 1980s was a bleak enough period and at the time the big employers in the area were Cadbury's and Tayto. In the circumstances, the Stardust offered some glamour and glitz and was a major social meeting place.

I was first elected to Dublin City Council in 1985 and since then I have tried to assist people to work through many of the issues arising from the fire. We need to assess what has happened since then. At the time, the Keane tribunal was established and it eventually published its final report. It investigated the fire in accordance with the norms and standards of the time and it is fair to say that as a result of modern technology and scientific breakthroughs, a much higher standard applies today. The finding that the cause of the fire was probably arson satisfied nobody and was a slur on the local community and all those present on the night. The Coffey report dealt with this matter and as a result, the Dáil and Seanad passed motions in 2009 to the effect that there was no basis in fact for the finding that the fire was caused by arson. The finding of arson was a mere hypothetical explanation unsupported by evidence. We now have the McCartan report. Judge Pat McCartan's report is blunt, to say the least; unnecessarily so in my view. Some of his comments on those involved in the inquiry are a bit offensive and uncalled for. I will come to his central findings later.

Subsequent to the fire in 1981, Garret FitzGerald's Government, with the help of the then Attorney General, Mr. John Rogers, SC, introduced a compensation scheme for those caught up in the tragedy. The payments at the time were just about satisfactory having regard to the norms of the 1980s, but they were certainly not generous by today's standards. One of the main objectives of the Stardust Relatives and Victims Committee was to ensure that such a fire never happened again. It is welcome that the specific recommendations made by the Keane tribunal led to a complete transformation of our fire safety and protection measures. A new legislative framework was put in place on the enactment of the Fire Services Act 1981.

A campaign for a suitable memorial for the victims was also launched at the time. In 1992, the Government announced that £250,000 would be made available for the construction of the Stardust Memorial Park in Bonnybrook. It is a beautiful park which contains a sculpture of two dancers and a water feature. The relatives find some peace and tranquility among the roses and in the park generally, in particular during the annual anniversary of the tragedy. I congratulate Dublin City Council on the work it has done on that facility. Five victims of the fire remained unidentified for many years but DNA technology has latterly allowed for the successful identification of their remains and made it possible for their families to erect headstones and hold services for their lost loved ones. I pay tribute to the Stardust Relatives and Victims Committee on its long campaign and hope they can acknowledge some of the small victories they have achieved along the way. However, they have more on their agenda and do not necessarily want any praise from me.

I wish to say something about my late father who was Taoiseach in 1981 and served as a TD for the area for 35 years. I am firmly of the view that there was no conspiracy or cover-up as far as the Stardust fire is concerned. There were no family links or other connections between my father and the Butterly family, the owners of the complex. In their book, They Never Came Home - the Stardust Story, Neil Fetherstonhaugh and Tony McCullagh state the following on page 242:

There is little doubt that Haughey was personally devastated by the Stardust disaster and that his concern for the victims was heartfelt and sincere. It is also important to remember that Haughey spent much of the 1980s on the Opposition benches; he was hardly in a prime position to influence Government decisions let alone a cover-up relating to the Stardust. As Opposition leader, Haughey played a key role in eventually securing compensation for the victims by putting pressure on the Fine Gael-Labour Government to establish a special tribunal.

It is a fair and accurate assessment of his position. It should also be said that it is outrageous that Irish law allowed compensation to be paid to the Butterly family after the fire, despite the undisputed evidence that fire exits in the complex were chained on the night. It must have been a very bitter pill for the families to swallow.

The Coffey report recommended that counselling and medical treatment should be afforded to the survivors and the bereaved where necessary and appropriate at the expense of the State. To progress the implementation of this recommendation, the Department of Justice and Equality placed advertisements in national newspapers seeking information on the level of need existing among survivors. The Department also engaged with legal representatives of the Stardust Relatives and Victims Committee in this regard. Arising from the consultation process, the need for the provision of counselling services was identified and appropriate arrangements were made with a number of individuals receiving such services. I hope these arrangements remain in place.

Judge McCartan concluded that there is no new evidence which warrants a commission of inquiry. This conclusion cannot easily be dismissed and is a significant development. The Stardust Relatives and Victims Committee met my colleague, Deputy John Lahart, on Tuesday this week. Deputy Lahart explained that the establishment of the McCartan examination, despite its disappointing outcome, fulfilled Deputy Micheál Martin's previous commitment in this regard. The committee continues to seek some reports on aspects of the Stardust tragedy from the Department of Justice and Equality, including the reports of Mr. Arthur Green, Mr. David Tucker, Mr. Frederick Porges and Dr. John Harbison, none of which have ever been published but relate in some cases to a possible cause of death. The committee also seeks the coroner's report into the deaths of the Stardust victims. The committee is exploring the possibility of the creation of a computer simulation of the Stardust fire into which all evidence can be input. My party will follow these matters up with the relevant agencies and the Department of Justice and Equality.

Unfortunately and sadly, there are now three independent reviews which have found that there is no realistic prospect of coming to a definitive conclusion on the cause of the fire. This assessment at this time will be very difficult for all of us to accept.

Deputies Denise Mitchell, Dessie Ellis, Seán Crowe and Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire wish to share time. Is that agreed? Agreed. There are 15 minutes in the slot.

I welcome the survivors and families of victims of the Stardust fire to the Visitors Gallery. Everyone here remembers the night of the Stardust fire and the weeks and months that followed. Something that always stands out for me is my memory of the queues of people outside our local phone box in Darndale trying to get through to friends and family to make sure they were safe. A very dark cloud hung over our community that night and even as a child I was very aware of it. It is a cloud that continues to hang over communities because the families and friends of those who never came home on that Valentine's night have never received closure. The families and survivors have never heard the truth of what happened and they feel let down time and time again by Governments on the issue.

These families and the survivors have been living a nightmare for 36 years.

I am sure many Members watched the RTÉ documentary, "After the Headlines", by Charlie Bird last Tuesday night. I commend that documentary and I encourage people who seem to think that these families should put this tragedy in the past and forget about it to watch it. It shows the reality of what this fire did and how it shaped the lives of those left behind. The fire did not just change the lives of the people involved, it also tore families apart. It had ripple effects across communities.

Families feel they were let down by the justice system. One of the survivors told me that in the years after the tragedy her father used to say, "A lot of these kids were from Bonnybrook - I can't help but feel that if they were from Donnybrook we would have gotten to the truth much sooner".

For those who do not know, Bonnybrook is in Coolock on the north side of Dublin.

One of the criticisms of this report from the Relatives and Victims Committee is that experts were not interviewed, including fire experts, forensic pathologists, building experts and key witnesses. That includes the external witness who had made an emergency telephone call that placed the fire on the roof of the building very early. In terms of forensics, the Coffey report and this assessment note that a shirt worn by one of the survivors which was stained with some of the flammable substance dripping from the roof "is no longer available for testing". Given the advances in forensics over recent years, I would have expected that these items of evidence would have been preserved so they could have been re-tested.

It is clear from witnesses that the fire was well established in the roof space from very early. A waitress who gave evidence spoke of how there were at least 50 drums, each containing five gallons of cooking oil, stored in the roof space in breach of fire and building regulations. There were flammable materials piled high in the roof space, planning and fire regulations were broken everywhere and emergency doors were padlocked shut, yet no charge was ever brought against the establishment or the management of the club. That speaks volumes.

I believe the terms of this assessment were too narrow. This was a cul-de-sac, and the Government knew it. The only way to get to the bottom of this tragedy is through a new commission of inquiry. Anything else simply will not do. It has been 36 years. Nobody should have to wait that long to get the truth about what happened to their loved ones.

I thank the families, friends and relatives, some of whom are in the Visitors Gallery tonight, for their fight for justice and for answers about what happened on that fatal night. The Stardust club was a popular venue for young people in the late 1970s and up to the time of the tragedy on 13 February 1981. I regularly attended events there, along with family, friends and neighbours. It was the place to go in those days for the young people of north Dublin.

On the fateful night of 13 February, over 800 young people were packed into the nightclub looking forward to a great night of fun and entertainment. Little did they know when they left their homes that night that their lives and the lives of others would be changed forever. Sometime after 1 a.m. a fire broke out. The belief is that it was ignited due to electrical faults. It is believed that large amounts of flammable materials stored in the roof fuelled the fire, which spread rapidly. I cannot imagine the fear and panic in the hearts of every young person there when the realisation hit them that they were in the midst of an inferno. It is unimaginable for me, as a parent, to think of those fatal last moments as the young people struggled to find a way out as the flames engulfed the nightclub.

The fire took the lives of 48 young people and injured 128. Today, many bear the physical scars of that night. Many who were there, who were injured or who are among the families of those who lost their lives still bear the unseen mental scars from the tragedy that unfolded. The suffering of the families of those who were lost and injured has not abated. It is as raw today as it was then. The Stardust tragedy had an impact not only on the close community of north Dublin but on the entire country.

What compounds the tragedy and re-traumatises the surviving victims and families is the lack of a proper and thorough investigation of the tragedy. Many questions remain unanswered. Nobody has been held accountable for the events that night. It is unacceptable and appalling that the families of the victims in the greatest loss of life in a fire in the history of the State are still fighting for justice and to get answers as to why their sons and daughters lost their lives on that fateful night. It is a tragedy for which families and survivors are still looking for closure after 36 years. For that reason it is very important that a commission of investigation is established. Many important issues remain to be examined. The issue of culpability must be fully examined as well.

Up to now the tragedy has been investigated in a totally inadequate way by the institutions of the State. This report is also inadequate. It is only through a new commission of investigation that families will get the truth about how their loved ones died.

I welcome the families in the Visitors Gallery. I can only imagine the disappointment they feel after believing that this inquiry would unearth the truth once and for all. I recall speaking on this issue in the House last January. It was my view that the way forward was through a full open inquiry. I recall the Minister saying that night that it was unfortunate there was no consensus on this matter. However, there was consensus. It lasted until the Government tabled an amendment and opted for having this limited inquiry. The failures of the inquiry show that a commission of inquiry is now the only way forward and its outcome reinforces that view.

Last January, I spoke about being from that generation and the effect the fire had. I can only imagine the effect it had on the families and the survivors. It scarred so many lives and changed all of us. People from that generation were never the same afterwards. I commend all the young people who bravely and selflessly helped their friends that night. I also thank the first responders. Most importantly, I support the families' demand for a public inquiry. It is the only way forward and the only way the families will get justice. I commend the families again on their sterling work on behalf of the loved ones they lost. As somebody from that generation, I admire the consistency and resolve they have shown through the years. I wish them well.

I wish to express my sympathy and solidarity with the families and survivors. I commend their resilience. The Minister said the fire was imprinted in the memory of the Irish people.

As somebody who was born seven years later, I suppose one learns about it afterwards. If there was anything in addition to the fire that imprinted itself on people's minds, and as one learns about it after the fact, it was the chains on the fire escapes, which were one of the most appalling things about it, but also the fact that the campaign to find justice and truth has been so long, arduous and, unfortunately, without success. I know the Stardust Relatives and Victims Committee is deeply disappointed with the report which states that a new commission of inquiry into the tragedy is unwarranted. I fundamentally disagree with that. It is my view and, I believe, the view of many Deputies that the McCartan report was clearly deficient. If the Government receives a report that is deficient, it should not accept it. Clearly, there were significant flaws in how the work was carried out in that it did not engage with expert evidence, fire experts, medical experts and building experts were not called on; and Dublin City Council was not called on. It is my understanding that this is despite a prior commitment that all those people would be called on. There were others, including Tony McCullough, who were not called on so there are clearly very significant flaws with the report that has been received. I do not think the report in any way allows us to simply draw a line under this and say it is not possible to do anymore and that it will not be possible to find out the truth. Clearly, there is more that could be done. There is more evidence, there are people who could be engaged with and there are experts who deserve to be heard and should be heard to find out the full truth.

It has been 36 years since those young people went out on a St. Valentine's night and never came home. No family should ever experience such tragedy but in its eventuality, the very least it deserves is transparency and to be afforded due process. I believe there is much more that can be done to achieve that. If this happened to any of our loved ones, I do not believe we would leave any stone unturned in our pursuit of justice and the truth. We have a responsibility to ensure that this happens and that the Oireachtas lends its full weight to finding out the truth. The McCartan report is clearly deficient and a full public inquiry is the only way to continue to pursue this.

I first want to acknowledge the families of the victims of the Stardust fire present in the Public Gallery who have been campaigning for justice for almost 37 years. The documentary shown on RTÉ last Tuesday night entitled "After the Headlines", which was sensitively presented by Charlie Bird and showed him talking to the families of victims as well as a badly injured survivor about how that tragedy defined their lives to a huge degree, serves as a timely reminder to the wider public of the massive impact the fire had on the national consciousness for those of us old enough to recall it. Not only did young, overwhelmingly working-class people, predominantly from Artane, Kilmore and Coolock, perish that night, 214 were physically injured and by official estimates, 823 people were psychologically traumatised and-or bereaved factoring in the survivors and families of victims. In recent times, the Stardust fire has been frequently compared to the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 in terms of a disaster befalling a working-class community and with some justification because the similarities are uncanny - working-class victims of lethal corporate neglect with the victims then blamed by officialdom in the first instance trading off anti-working-class prejudice. However, positively, we also see the determination of the families of victims to fight for truth and justice come what may. After a number of false dawns, the Hillsborough families are getting the justice they deserve but the families of the Stardust victims have to fight on. Does anybody believe for one moment that had this tragedy happened at the disco at Old Wesley Rugby Football Club in Donnybrook that matters would not have panned out differently in the aftermath and that if the owners of the premises had kept a vital fire exit locked and chained, they would not be up for manslaughter or worse instead of being handsomely compensated for the fire to their premises? Does anyone believe that had the fire occurred in the Old Wesley Rugby Football Club, that political connections that might have existed between the owners and prominent politicians would have saved their skin when the lives of privileged youth were lost?

There was a genuine hope among the families of the victims and survivors that Judge Patrick McCartan would have approached his task with empathy and real understanding - not least given the fact he was a former Deputy for the old Dublin North East constituency between 1989 and 1992. One might have hoped that he more than any other retired judge would have had a real appreciation of the impact of the tragedy in the community compounded by years of cover up. It is inconceivable that during his time knocking on doors as councillor seeking to becoming a Deputy and then during this three years as a Deputy, he did not on multiple occasions speak to the families of victims and survivors. Maybe with reluctance and justified suspicion, the families back in January agreed on the basis of assurances from the Minister of State, Finian McGrath, who was under the cosh to vote down Deputy Broughan's Private Members' motion, to go down the route of the McCartan exercise. It worked in one sense in terms of getting the Minister of State off the hook for a period of time.

Instead the families were dropped from a height by a 50-page report that did not seriously engage with the evidence assembled by the families and dedicated campaigners such as Geraldine Foy. Even hardened political activists of the left, who would harbour no illusions about the Judiciary, were somewhat stunned by the McCartan report. To our shock, we were presented with something of a hatchet job designed to damage the credibility of Ms Foy, in particular. We are talking about working-class people with limited resources to fight their campaign for justice. Had they the resources to employ medical, engineering and scientific experts, I have no doubt they would have done so. Instead, they have had to rely on goodwill and support on voluntary basis. Retired Judge McCartan could not seem to get over the fact that Geraldine Foy lacked formal expertise in these areas. Whatever Ms Foy lacked on that score was more than compensated by the tenacity she demonstrated in going over the documents and transcripts right back to the travesty that was the Keane report. On the basis of Ms Foy's efforts, even retired Judge McCartan could not contest that the time and location of the fire was different from what had previously been recorded. Basic evidence such as the drawings of the Stardust building that were presented as evidence were flawed. The Minister might comment on the fact that retired Judge McCartan was provided with the resources to obtain expert scientific inputs and opinions into Ms Foy's dossier. Instead he seemed content to subject it to a critique of its literary style as if he was writing for the book review sections of the Sunday newspapers.

Last January, Deputy Broughan’s motion should have laid the basis for the independent full inquiry the families sought. Instead we were brought on a cruel year-long detour that the Minister clearly hopes will satisfy the wider public. Unfortunately, there were mainstream media columnists in the likes of the Sunday Times and the Irish Examiner who were all too ready to weigh in behind Judge McCartan and the Government in November. However, I hope last Tuesday's documentary, the support of Deputies on this side of the Dáil and our Dublin City councillor colleagues and above all, the ongoing efforts of the families will all serve to sustain the struggle.

I want to end by quoting an email my party colleague in the Dublin Bay North Constituency, Councillor Michael O'Brien, received this morning from Maurice Frazer whose sister Thelma and her boyfriend Michael perished in the fire. I think it captures in a few paragraphs the deep hurt and at the same time the resolve that characterises these brave families.

It reads:

Hi Michael,

After Minister Flanagan’s decision to wash his hands, like many Ministers of Justice before I am deeply depressed and very angry once again. When these feelings hit you, you just want to give up. But my family and I will NEVER give up on my sister Thelma and her boyfriend Michael and the 46 others who were, KILLED by GREED and IGNORED by JUSTICE.

I regret that I cannot stomach going into Dáil Éireann for today’s debate. I want you to convey my feelings to the Dáil. I still respect the Dáil [for] which my Grandfather fought ... and was imprisoned for during the times of the rebellion and the fight for Independence, but I cannot help in thinking of what he would think of the Legislators of the past 36 years, denying his Granddaughter her right for Justice.

As others have done, I welcome and acknowledge the presence of the Stardust families in the Visitors Gallery. I commend them on their continuing, heroic battle for truth and justice regarding the causes of the fire that consumed 48 young people - their loved ones - in 1981. I do not really understand the McCartan report's conclusions. I have met Pat McCartan and he seems to be a good man but I really do not understand the conclusions. I do not accept his view. The families are right not to accept that there is no necessity for a full commission of investigation and inquiry into the fire and its causes.

One of the key pieces of evidence the families and victims brought forward relates to Brenda Kelly and her evidence that the fire started considerably earlier than the Keane report suggested and that she saw the fire in the roof space. We also know that there were large amounts of combustible material in the storeroom. That does not definitively prove the cause of the fire. However, it radically alters how we might begin to examine the existing evidence and look for new evidence to try to ascertain the causes of the fire. It radically changes matters. McCartan acknowledges that point. I do not have time to look for the quote now but he makes the point that if Brenda Kelly's evidence is correct, then it is likely that the fire started in the roof space. If the fire started in the roof space and there was a large amount of combustible material present, that must be examined. We will have other evidence from people who were in the ballroom that they felt intense heat in the ceiling above them long before there was evidence of fire in the ballroom.

We know that fire and planning regulations were being flouted. All of that justifies a re-examination of all the evidence. That is the point. Geraldine Foy and the families could never provide conclusive evidence as to the cause of the fire. How could they possibly do so? For McCartan to criticise them for their lack of expertise in being able to definitively prove how the fire started is completely unreasonable. How can Pat McCartan or, for that matter, Mr. Coffey, conclude whether it was possible to identify the causes of the fire? If Geraldine Foy is not an expert, then neither are they. They are not experts so it is unreasonable for McCartan to rubbish the evidence she uncovered and also her re-examination of the available evidence. If, on the balance of probability - a reasonable legal basis on which to re-examine matters - the best explanation for the rapid spread of the fire is that it started in the roof and there was combustible material present, then that is enough justification to re-examine everything. It is absolutely extraordinary that McCartan says that if Brenda Kelly's evidence is true, the fire started in the roof space. However, he never sought to establish whether that evidence is true.

Many of the other experts and witnesses who could have fleshed out the alternative possibility of how the fire started were never interviewed. Their evidence was never taken into account. That is just not good enough. It is not good enough to criticise the incredible work of Geraldine Foy on the basis that she is not a professional researcher or expert. She never claimed to be either. Part of the battle the families have been having with the Government all along relates to their lack of resources. They had to do this largely on a voluntary basis. What they have done is incredible, particularly in light of the limited resources that were available to them.

What is happening is not good enough. I blame the Government more than I blame Pat McCartan. Why do I say that? The answer is that when the motion relating to this matter was passed, some of us sought to amend it to say we should just have a commission of investigation. We felt that the Government's refusal to facilitate the establishment of a commission amounted to selling a pup to the families. A great deal of pressure was put on the families to say that the McCartan review would achieve what they wanted. It could never do that. It was not possible for it to do that. They were sold a pup for political reasons. Why did the Government not just establish a commission of investigation? There was enough evidence to suggest it was warranted. I do not see how the Government can say anything else.

I appeal to the Government to recognise that we have gone about this in the wrong way. A paper review, which is really what this was - with the only additions being that the victims were met and Geraldine Foy's report was looked at - was never going to be enough. What was necessary was to say that if they had got some serious points and evidence, then a wider and more comprehensive investigation was necessary and this would require a full commission of investigation. I appeal to the Government to reconsider the matter and to give the families the commission of investigation for which they have asked. They will not cease their battle. They have good cause to continue to demand that the commission of investigation for which they have fought so long and hard in the interests of obtaining justice and getting to the truth of what happened to 48 young people in Artane in 1981 be established.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for this brief opportunity to speak on this important matter. The 37th anniversary of the Stardust tragedy will be on 14 February 2018. The horrific inferno on that night stole the lives of 48 of our young people and left 214 others injured. It occurred in a dance hall with chained and blocked exits. Earlier this week, journalist Charlie Bird brought us back to that terrible night in an RTÉ documentary in which we witnessed again the enduring distress of the victims and their relatives.

In January, I brought a motion before Dáil Éireann calling for the establishment a new commission of investigation into the St. Valentine’s night inferno. My motion was supported by Independents4Change, People Before Profit, Solidarity, Sinn Féin, the Labour Party, the Social Democrats and other left-leaning Independents. The Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Finian McGrath, despite being deeply aware of the work of the Stardust Relatives and Victims Committee during the earlier part of his political career, sadly turned his back on the families who lost loved ones and instead supported the Government’s amendment to the motion. My motion was defeated by 94 votes to 50 and the version amended by the Government, which effectively called for a Coffey review, part 2, was passed. On 7 March 2017, the Government agreed to the appointment of Pat McCartan, a retired judge, to assess any new or updated evidence uncovered by the Stardust Relatives and Victims Committee. This assessment began on 27 March 2017.

I have now submitted another motion to the Ceann Comhairle rejecting the McCartan report and calling for an immediate commission of investigation. I am very pleased that the new motion is supported by my Independents4Change colleagues, Deputies Joan Collins and Thomas Pringle, and by People Before Profit, Solidarity, Sinn Féin and the Labour Party.

On 17 October, Judge McCartan submitted his report to the Department of Justice and Equality and his conclusion in section 5.106 was that, "there is no new or updated evidence disclosed in the meaning of the terms of this Assessment and no new enquiry is warranted". This conclusion was announced publicly and to the Stardust Relatives and Victims Committee three weeks later on 7 November, and the feeling since that date has been one of devastation, disappointment and despair for the people most affected by the Stardust disaster.

I am also very disappointed to see that Judge McCartan, my predecessor as a Deputy for Dublin North-East, has not recommended a new commission of investigation into the tragedy that has changed the history of our constituency since that fateful night in 1981. Had the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, and the Government supported my motion in January, the Stardust Relatives and Victims Committee would have had an opportunity, through a commission under the McDowell legislation, for final closure, but instead they were subjected again to an unnecessary Coffey part 2-type examination.

I feel very sad for Ms Antoinette Keegan, Ms Chrissie Keegan, Ms Gertrude Barrett, Mr. Maurice Frazer, Mr. Eugene Kelly, Ms Patricia Kennedy, Mr. Eddie Kennedy, Mr. Paul O'Sullivan, Mr. Jimmy Fitzpatrick and the McDermott family, Bridget, June, Selina and Louise, most of whom along with some others are present with us in the Gallery tonight. They are very welcome. I had always hoped that we would have justice at last for these citizens similar to what recently happened with the Hillsborough disaster for the people of Liverpool and earlier with the Saville inquiry into Bloody Sunday for the people of Derry. Seeking justice for the relatives and victims of the Stardust disaster still remains unfinished business but the Dáil colleagues who have signed the new motion and I will not shirk from pursuing the completion of this fight for justice.

I reject Judge McCartan's report because I always wanted a full commission of investigation under the 2004 legislation. The terms of reference in the Government's amendment for the McCartan assessment were far too narrow and I fear that those terms of reference were set up by the Department of Justice and Equality to produce this negative result. The record of the last almost 37 years is that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have simply never wanted a full, transparent and open investigation into the events of that night and - very importantly - the prior conditions which shaped those events.

Wide-ranging forensic research was and continues to be needed and the onus should not be on the Relatives and Victims Committee alone to produce such research. When one thinks of crime reviews, who would ask a committee of volunteers to carry out, and on their own stand over, a forensic investigation? If we saw that in a crime review, we would consider it an outrageous demand to be made on any committee or any voluntary group of citizens.

My office has been contacted a number of times by a distinguished researcher who also submitted evidence and analysis to Judge McCartan but who claims that this evidence was disregarded as he is not a member of the committee. Judge McCartan's interpretation of his narrow terms only seemed to allow him to examine new evidence from the committee.

The terms of reference for the assessment were, of course, linked to the programme for Government statement that "full regard will be had to any new evidence which emerges which would be likely to definitely establish the cause of the fire at Stardust". The Government amendment to my January motion stated:

calls on the Government to meet with the Stardust Relatives and Victims Committee regarding the new and updated evidence they have uncovered since reviewing Judge Keane's Report of the Tribunal of Inquiry on the fire at the Stardust, Artane, Dublin in 2006, to have that new and updated evidence assessed urgently by an independent person who has the trust of the families; and

if the independent assessment confirms the existence of new evidence, calls on the Government to immediately establish a Commission of Investigation.

As other speakers have said, this seems to have been interpreted by Judge McCartan as meaning that only research carried out by researchers who reported to the committee was to be included. The research that was produced was originally compiled for the Paul Coffey review and later reorganised and expanded for the Judge McCartan review. The research, while very important, is however, only one strand of information or line of inquiry available to investigators on the disastrous circumstances of St. Valentine's Day 1981 in Artane.

There are several other avenues of research which Judge McCartan could have deeply explored had he been appointed to lead a full commission of investigation, as those of us on this side of the House wanted. A seminal outstanding work on the Stardust was produced by the distinguished editor of the Northside People, Mr. Tony McCullagh and his distinguished colleague, Mr. Neil Fetherstonhaugh, in 2001. That work, They Never Came Home: The Stardust Story, profoundly influenced my own thinking on the Stardust and the references to electrical faults in the complex in the months preceding the disaster raised very serious questions about the operation of the club and the attitude of the local authority, Dublin Corporation, and the fire authorities to building by-laws and fire safety.

In 2006 Ms Rita O'Reilly and the RTÉ "Prime Time" team challenged the fundamental thesis of the Keane conclusions that the fire began in the west alcove. The book and the RTÉ programme led many readers and viewers to seriously question the 1982 report of the Keane tribunal and conclude that a new inquiry was merited and essential.

Many other witnesses have come forward with interesting evidence of their experience of visits to the Stardust in the months and weeks immediately before the fire. The then local and national politicians and Dublin Corporation officials of the day were familiar with the complex, including the former Taoiseach, Mr. Ahern, who lived across the road, and many would have known the venue at first hand by attending local functions at the complex. Dublin Corporation's Christmas party was held there only a few months before the disaster.

New insights have also been provided recently by fire and engineering experts such as Mr. Paul Giblin, who has been in contact with my office. Mr. Giblin's essential thesis is that fire investigation and fire dynamics research have greatly advanced since 1981. The development of IT and computer graphics has given unique new insights into how fires start and spread, as is apparent in the investigation into the recent Grenfell Tower fire tragedy. As almost 40 years have passed, constituents are baffled as to how Judge McCartan could make any decision without consulting such expertise. As colleagues around me have said, it is astonishing and bewildering. On that very point also, the McCartan assessment is fatally flawed and must be rejected.

The dismissive attitude of sections of Judge McCartan's report to the research and conclusions of the committee's work was uncalled for and unfair, especially given the general volunteer nature of the research undertaken over many years. Many constituents are deeply upset by the rude and dismissive characterisation of important aspects of the committee's report.

Judge McCartan is critical of the committee's reliance on the Keane tribunal and Coffey review, and absence of new avenues of research, but he seems to have believed that the terms of reference for his assessment made it impossible for him to explore the other lines of inquiry, including those I have referenced. I believe he could and should have moved outside these narrow parameters for the assessment and at least asked for the opinion of others acquainted with the Stardust tragedy on the research compiled for the committee. If he felt that research needed to be stronger to justify a new tribunal, as he indicates in his conclusions, he could surely have evaluated it in the context of the overall research already done on the Stardust and in light of the latest fire investigation research.

The key conclusion, of course, of the McCartan report is 5.106, in which he rejects the calling of a new inquiry. In the executive summary of the report, point 1.2 states, "This is the third assessment of evidence into the Stardust Fire." This is somewhat disingenuous as the terms of reference were clearly too narrow for it to be defined as "assessment of evidence" when as I have mentioned, many other avenues of evidence could have been explored by the judge. Mr. Paul Coffey made a somewhat broader assessment which is one reason he provided the Ahern Government with the option of a full commission of investigation, which neither of the two Ministers mentioned tonight. Mr. Coffey said that under certain circumstances there should be a new commission of inquiry and the former Taoiseach, Mr. Ahern, could have gone down that avenue.

Point 1.5 of the McCartan report lays out the principal findings of the assessment as acknowledging that there were differences "between the first and second version of the Coffey Report", but Judge McCartan believes that these did not water down the committee findings despite that. A total of 17 issues were examined in the McCartan assessment and the report states that "Much of the material presented to this Assessment involved proposing a theory as to the cause of the fire". However, Judge McCartan decided that just one of the issues, "could be considered new or updated evidence", and that was the phone call by an eyewitness, Ms Brenda Kelly, to which Deputy Boyd Barrett referred.

Here, Judge McCartan confirms that: "It is evident that the fire was in the roof space at a stage earlier than that fixed by the Keane Report". That is a remarkable finding and echoes the profound and long-held belief of the Stardust Relatives and Victims Committee. Given this statement, however, along with the tone of parts of the assessment, I cannot accept that this should be the last word on the Stardust tragedy. It does not give closure and it certainly does not give justice for the 48 innocent lives lost.

Sections 5.57 to 5.60 on the evidence of an electrical start to the fire are by far the weakest sections of the assessment and no effort was made to evaluate forensically the Stardust committee’s assertions and earlier other evidence on dangerous electrical systems at the Stardust Club, which is very evident in Tony McCullagh and Neil Fetherstonhaugh's book. Likewise, sections 5.68 to 5.76 of the report, which I have before me, on evidences relating to the "Five Dead Males in the North Alcove" seems to me to miss the key point of this aspect of this terrible tragedy. Those sections remind me of speeches I made over a decade ago when I set out the reasons I believed the conclusions of the Keane report were untrustworthy, unfair and unsafe. A key one of those reasons was the use by Keane of the Fire Research Station of the UK Department of the Environment, which many constituents believed was hopelessly compromised because that agency had also worked for Dublin Corporation.

In sections 5.13 and 5.14, Judge McCartan explores the issues around information that is new evidence and information that supports a new theory as to the cause of the fire and says that only new evidence can support the calling of a commission of investigation. He concludes that unless such new evidence or evidence that was not properly considered by Keane or Coffey can be produced, no new inquiry is warranted. However, had Judge McCartan widened his terms of reference or took the most scope, even within the terms of reference of the assessment, surely there is such evidence and it does justify a new commission of investigation under the 2004 Act.

Many Deputies referred to the Stardust relatives' and victims' long struggle for answers and justice. It is reminiscent, as others have said, of the tragedies of Bloody Sunday 1972 and of Hillsborough in 1989. Both of those awful tragedies had earlier inquiries - Widgery in the case of Derry, the Hillsborough inquests and also tribunals - which made totally unjust and unsatisfactory findings for the people of Derry and the people of Liverpool. However, following tremendously focused and valiant campaigns by relatives and survivors of those disasters, which were reminiscent of the campaign of our constituents who are in the Gallery, the families and communities in Derry and Liverpool involved in those tragedies eventually did get justice and closure. Likewise, it is only fair that the single greatest tragedy in our city’s recent history be afforded the same respect.

Many people commented on the different phases of the struggle, first to get very basic compensation in the era of John Rodgers and the then Tánaiste, Dick Spring, and then the campaign to get the beautiful Stardust Memorial Park. I used to dash out of work to go on the picket with Antoinette, Chrissy and their friends outside the office of the then Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, who eventually came up with €500,000 to give us the Stardust Memorial Park.

In the lead-up to the Coffey review we had seven long years of struggle including many meetings with the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Michael McDowell. The subsequent submission by the Stardust Relatives and Victims Committee entitled Nothing But the Truth in 2007 to the then Minister, Michael McDowell, who was also Tánaiste, was another turning point in their struggle.

Thank you, Deputy.

Following the publication of the Coffey report, we had the moment in Dáil Éireann when the outrageous slur on the young victims of the Stardust tragedy and all the other young people who attended that night was removed from the Dáil record. I was delighted to read the names of the 48 victims into the record of this Dáil.

Thank you very much, Deputy.

If I could just have another minute or two, a Cheann Comhairle. There is a strong belief on the northside that successive Ministers for justice, going back to Ray Burke and down to the incumbent, the Minister, Deputy Charlie Flanagan, have failed the communities of the northside and the relatives and victims of the Stardust tragedy.

Thank you, Deputy. You are over time now.

We are a little ahead of time because I do not believe we have the full range-----

There is an equality of time made available to everyone.

I just want to conclude. I did not want the McCartan assessment to take place because I feared that it was the Government’s plan to kick the can down the road and to narrow the terms of reference so much that it was set up to fail from the beginning. Anyway, what could a Coffey part two exercise achieve? We clearly now need a commission of investigation under the 2004 Act, with the widest possible inquiry and remit across all the lines of inquiry I mentioned, to evaluate all existing research and to encourage everybody who knows anything about the Stardust to come forward.

Before any more time is lost, we must ensure that all witnesses have their say. Almost 40 years have passed since that tragic night and the latest research on fire dynamics and engineering should be utilised to examine what caused the fire in the roof space.

Thank you, Deputy.

Only a full new commission of investigation can do that.

I submitted a motion to the Ceann Comhairle's office and I hope that early next year our ministerial colleagues and also the Deputies in Fianna Fáil will have the opportunity of supporting that motion and that we finally get justice and closure for the relatives and victims of this horrendous disaster.

That concludes these important statements and our current consideration of the McCartan report on the Stardust disaster. I thank everyone who participated therein.

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