Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I sincerely wish to thank Deputy Thomas P. Broughan for bringing forward this Bill calling for a commission of investigation into the Stardust fire and for his work with the families of victims and survivors of this brutal tragedy, which is what it is. I also congratulate those, some of whom are in the Visitors Gallery, for their perseverance and courage over 36 years in their quest for truth and justice for their loved ones. It is not an impossible quest. This was demonstrated by the campaign for the re-opening of the inquest into the Hillsborough disaster by the Liverpool 96 campaign. The new inquest vindicated the families with its verdict of unlawful killing.

The term "unlawful killing" comes to my mind when I read elements of the original Keane inquiry. I am going to quote a few of them. Conclusion 9.25 stated: "The use of carpet tiles on the walls of the ballroom and the main entrance foyer was a breach of the requirements of the Chief Fire Officer." Conclusion 9.29 found: "The electrical installation was also defective in a number of respects: in particular, trunking lids were not fitted in several areas and conduit fittings were missing." Conclusion 9.31 stated: "There were a number of serious failures to comply with the Fire Protection Standards of the Department of the Environment." Conclusion 9.41 found: "The locking and chaining of one of the emergency exits was the result of a policy initiated by Mr Eamon Butterly of having all the emergency exits locked and chained until midnight at the earliest." Conclusion 9.42 stated: "This policy was pursued by Mr Butterly with a reckless disregard for the safety of the people on the premises." Conclusion 9.47 found that: "Had the appropriate precautions been in existence to ensure an efficient evacuation on the night of the fire, the injuries sustained would have been unquestionably less and the death toll would almost certainly have been reduced." Those are conclusions from the Keane report.

I believe it is reprehensible that 70 alterations were made to the original Coffey report. The one key change, which has been mentioned already, was in paragraph 5.13, which reads as follows:

I accept that this is profoundly unsatisfactory to the survivors and the bereaved. I also accept the Committee’s submission that such was the scale of the disaster that it has become a matter of communal if not national history to an extent that engages a public interest in ensuring that the public record of what happened is factually accurate and established by evidence. I further accept that a new Inquiry is necessary if it is the only way of placing on the public record a finding that is based on evidence.

How did that change to what the Government has recorded here tonight? The Minister said that it would not be in the public interest. I believe we should accept the basis of the new evidence that has come forward from the families and from Ms Geraldine Foy. The Department of Justice and Equality should bring it forward, take responsibility for it and bring it to a commission of investigation. It should not kick it down the road as a Coffey report II type of thing. It should not push it down the road. We cannot be sitting here in six months time asking where that report is and how far it has gone. Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn. Hell will have no fury like a community's scorn if the Government does not respond positively and quickly to this issue.

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