Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 July 2015
232. 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. [27161/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI 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 with the Stardust Victims and Relatives Committee last year and this meeting provided me with an opportunity to hear at first hand the ongoing concerns of the Committee in relation to this tragic event.
As the Deputy will be aware, 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 accepted these findings and motions were passed in both Houses of the Oireachtas endorsing these conclusions and expressing sympathy with the families.
Following my meeting with the Committee and hearing their concerns, I appointed an official in my Department to liaise with the Committee and they have engaged with representatives of the Committee in relation to these matters.
A researcher associated with the Committee submitted material relating to these events to my Department and a meeting was held with that Researcher, and another person associated with the Committee, on 23 April this year. The material previously submitted and the matters raised at that meeting continue to be examined in my Department.
I wish also to inform the Deputy that allegations raised by the Stardust Relatives' and Victims Committee and their representatives in relation to certain matters are the subject of an ongoing investigation by An Garda Síochána. I am informed, by the Garda Commissioner, that this is a complex investigation and, you will understand, I cannot do anything that might cut across this investigation.
