State's abandonment of Stardust victims criticised

SEANAD REPORT:THE ABANDONMENT of the Stardust victims and their relatives by the State over a prolonged period and the refusal to forensically investigate every aspect of what really happened on that tragic night was without doubt one of the most shameful and unjust episodes in our entire history and ranked with some of the most serious miscarriages of justice ever, Brendan Ryan(Lab) said.

He was speaking on a motion acknowledging that the cause of the fire was unknown, the finding of arson was a mere hypothetical explanation and was not demonstrated by any evidence, and that none of the persons present on the night could be held responsible.

Minister for Lifelong Learning Seán Haugheysaid the motion also accepted a recommendation that arrangements be put in place to ensure that any outstanding counselling and medical treatments were afforded to the survivors and the bereaved.

Mr Ryan said that the horrific deaths and injuries of that terrible night had been compounded by the conclusions of the flawed Keane tribunal report. The conclusion that arson had been the most probable cause of the l98l fire was “particularly offensive for the Stardust survivors and relatives. They rightly felt that this cast a slur on their blameless loved ones who had innocently gone out for a night and ended up in the inferno at the Stardust club.”

Feargal Quinn(Ind) said the report by Paul Coffey SC represented a victory for the families.

Ivor Callely(FF) said he was annoyed at the length of time it had taken to correct the record. Praising the "remarkable determination" of the Stardust committee, he appealed that the State and its agencies never allow such a miscarriage of justice to recur.

Frances Fitzgerald(FG) said this was no victory for politics. "It is a shame on politics because the resistance that these families met tells us a story about how victims have been dealt with in Ireland. I hope we have learned the lesson of listening to people who are directly involved in tragedies such as this." It was extraordinary that 28 years on they were talking about establishing a committee to monitor the counselling and medical needs of survivors and the bereaved.

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Dominic Hannigan(Lab) said he would not allow some guards at Dublin airport to be in charge of access to Craggy Island. The refusal of entry to three young Texan backpackers would "cost" our tourist industry because it had received considerable media attention in the US.

The Garda authorities said what had happened was standard procedure and their US counterparts took similar action. This had not been his experience in America. “What is clear here is that there are no procedures in place for dealing with backpackers.”