Lessons of Stardust not learnt, says Labour TD

Twenty years after the Stardust fire that killed 48 people and maimed hundreds, the lessons of the tragedy have not been learnt and a similar disaster could occur again, it was claimed in the Dail.

Mr Tommy Broughan (Lab, Dublin North-East) said some of the key findings of the tribunal of inquiry into the tragedy had still not been implemented and fire regulations were being broken in public venues every night of the week. He also called on the Taoiseach to respond generously to the needs of the families of victims and the survivors who had not been shown due respect.

The Minister of State for the Environment, Mr Danny Wallace, who responded for the Minister, Mr Dempsey, said all the Stardust inquiry recommendations had either been implemented or "taken into account in the intervening period", and Mr Dempsey had commissioned a strategic review of the fire service.

Mr Broughan said 10 local authorities had still not approved fire and emergency operations plans. Three councils had not drawn up any plans and seven other authorities, including Dublin Corporation, had yet to approve their prepared plans.

Referring to comments by the chairman of the Chief Fire Officers' Association, Mr Michael Fitzsimons, he said the fire services were creaking, and they did not have the personnel to inspect premises. He said the Chief Fire Officer was supposed to be given extra powers including dealing with overcrowding and this had not happened.

Mr Broughan, in whose constituency the Valentine's night tragedy occurred in 1981, said the loss of the families of the victims and those maimed had been compounded by the belief that "those responsible for the deaths of these people - those who put the need for profit before the safety of the public - were never properly called to account for their actions".