Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Would the Minister of State accept there are analogies between the conduct of the investigation into the Stardust disaster and, for example, Bloody Sunday where eventually the victims and relatives ended up with the Saville inquiry? I appreciate the Minister of State's good intentions to bring this matter to the Minister, Deputy Shatter, and to ask him if he would review all the departmental files in regard to the Coffey report and the concerns I have expressed. Will he look again at the possibility of a short, sharp commission of investigation under the 2004 legislation to attempt to bring closure to this matter?

The Minister of State referred to hypothetical findings and so on. She investigated the issue of the victims of the Magdalen laundries in great depth and did some outstanding work in that regard. There is much documentary evidence available, including the Foy report, complied by Geraldine Foy in 2004, a famous book by two young journalists from the northside, Tony McCullough and Neil Fetherstonhaugh, entitled, They Never Came Home, evidence from local residents and so on, which is totally at variance with the conclusion of Keane and Coffey that the actual cause cannot be found. Will the Minister look at that again?

Approximately seven parishes in the wider Coolock area were devastated and continue to have profoundly sad memories of that time. There was a sense in this House and in the Seanad when the Coffey report came out that we were close to getting closure but these recent revelations, through a freedom of information request and from other sources, have disturbed that and people still want some sort of closure, which we finally got with the Magdalen report a few weeks ago and with the Murphy and Ryan reports into other great tragedies in Irish history. That is the type of closure for which we are looking and perhaps a commission of investigation is the only way to go. The Minister of State might convey that to the Minister, Deputy Shatter.

See this speech in context