Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the families, friends and relatives, some of whom are in the Visitors Gallery tonight, for their fight for justice and for answers about what happened on that fatal night. The Stardust club was a popular venue for young people in the late 1970s and up to the time of the tragedy on 13 February 1981. I regularly attended events there, along with family, friends and neighbours. It was the place to go in those days for the young people of north Dublin.

On the fateful night of 13 February, over 800 young people were packed into the nightclub looking forward to a great night of fun and entertainment. Little did they know when they left their homes that night that their lives and the lives of others would be changed forever. Sometime after 1 a.m. a fire broke out. The belief is that it was ignited due to electrical faults. It is believed that large amounts of flammable materials stored in the roof fuelled the fire, which spread rapidly. I cannot imagine the fear and panic in the hearts of every young person there when the realisation hit them that they were in the midst of an inferno. It is unimaginable for me, as a parent, to think of those fatal last moments as the young people struggled to find a way out as the flames engulfed the nightclub.

The fire took the lives of 48 young people and injured 128. Today, many bear the physical scars of that night. Many who were there, who were injured or who are among the families of those who lost their lives still bear the unseen mental scars from the tragedy that unfolded. The suffering of the families of those who were lost and injured has not abated. It is as raw today as it was then. The Stardust tragedy had an impact not only on the close community of north Dublin but on the entire country.

What compounds the tragedy and re-traumatises the surviving victims and families is the lack of a proper and thorough investigation of the tragedy. Many questions remain unanswered. Nobody has been held accountable for the events that night. It is unacceptable and appalling that the families of the victims in the greatest loss of life in a fire in the history of the State are still fighting for justice and to get answers as to why their sons and daughters lost their lives on that fateful night. It is a tragedy for which families and survivors are still looking for closure after 36 years. For that reason it is very important that a commission of investigation is established. Many important issues remain to be examined. The issue of culpability must be fully examined as well.

Up to now the tragedy has been investigated in a totally inadequate way by the institutions of the State. This report is also inadequate. It is only through a new commission of investigation that families will get the truth about how their loved ones died.

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