Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy is aware, I have met with members of the Stardust victims committee and heard their concerns about how this tragedy has been investigated. There have been a number of reports to date. I have put in place a process in the Department of Justice and Equality whereby the committee can liaise directly and intensively with officials in the Department who have given a huge amount of time to this issue over recent months. The reason we have done that is to ensure that a comprehensive submission outlining all of the material the committee wishes to have considered in this regard is brought forward. Significant progress has been made in that process and I hope the committee continues to engage with it.

The programme for Government contains a commitment that full regard will be had for any new evidence that can definitively prove the cause of the Stardust fire and I am committed to working with the families should they wish to continue to engage with us on this process. In the course of the engagement, they are bringing forward a range of matters relating to the cause of the fire and also relating to support for the work of the committee which they have identified and which they feel they were not given previously. The committee brought forward a range of issues, and I will not go into detail about them now, relating to support from the Government for the work of the committee.

We are certainly committed to continuing to engage in the process. If evidence emerges that the Government and committee are convinced is new evidence, we can progress it further. That work is ongoing.

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