Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I first want to acknowledge the families of the victims of the Stardust fire present in the Public Gallery who have been campaigning for justice for almost 37 years. The documentary shown on RTÉ last Tuesday night entitled "After the Headlines", which was sensitively presented by Charlie Bird and showed him talking to the families of victims as well as a badly injured survivor about how that tragedy defined their lives to a huge degree, serves as a timely reminder to the wider public of the massive impact the fire had on the national consciousness for those of us old enough to recall it. Not only did young, overwhelmingly working-class people, predominantly from Artane, Kilmore and Coolock, perish that night, 214 were physically injured and by official estimates, 823 people were psychologically traumatised and-or bereaved factoring in the survivors and families of victims. In recent times, the Stardust fire has been frequently compared to the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 in terms of a disaster befalling a working-class community and with some justification because the similarities are uncanny - working-class victims of lethal corporate neglect with the victims then blamed by officialdom in the first instance trading off anti-working-class prejudice. However, positively, we also see the determination of the families of victims to fight for truth and justice come what may. After a number of false dawns, the Hillsborough families are getting the justice they deserve but the families of the Stardust victims have to fight on. Does anybody believe for one moment that had this tragedy happened at the disco at Old Wesley Rugby Football Club in Donnybrook that matters would not have panned out differently in the aftermath and that if the owners of the premises had kept a vital fire exit locked and chained, they would not be up for manslaughter or worse instead of being handsomely compensated for the fire to their premises? Does anyone believe that had the fire occurred in the Old Wesley Rugby Football Club, that political connections that might have existed between the owners and prominent politicians would have saved their skin when the lives of privileged youth were lost?

There was a genuine hope among the families of the victims and survivors that Judge Patrick McCartan would have approached his task with empathy and real understanding - not least given the fact he was a former Deputy for the old Dublin North East constituency between 1989 and 1992. One might have hoped that he more than any other retired judge would have had a real appreciation of the impact of the tragedy in the community compounded by years of cover up. It is inconceivable that during his time knocking on doors as councillor seeking to becoming a Deputy and then during this three years as a Deputy, he did not on multiple occasions speak to the families of victims and survivors. Maybe with reluctance and justified suspicion, the families back in January agreed on the basis of assurances from the Minister of State, Finian McGrath, who was under the cosh to vote down Deputy Broughan's Private Members' motion, to go down the route of the McCartan exercise. It worked in one sense in terms of getting the Minister of State off the hook for a period of time.

Instead the families were dropped from a height by a 50-page report that did not seriously engage with the evidence assembled by the families and dedicated campaigners such as Geraldine Foy. Even hardened political activists of the left, who would harbour no illusions about the Judiciary, were somewhat stunned by the McCartan report. To our shock, we were presented with something of a hatchet job designed to damage the credibility of Ms Foy, in particular. We are talking about working-class people with limited resources to fight their campaign for justice. Had they the resources to employ medical, engineering and scientific experts, I have no doubt they would have done so. Instead, they have had to rely on goodwill and support on voluntary basis. Retired Judge McCartan could not seem to get over the fact that Geraldine Foy lacked formal expertise in these areas. Whatever Ms Foy lacked on that score was more than compensated by the tenacity she demonstrated in going over the documents and transcripts right back to the travesty that was the Keane report. On the basis of Ms Foy's efforts, even retired Judge McCartan could not contest that the time and location of the fire was different from what had previously been recorded. Basic evidence such as the drawings of the Stardust building that were presented as evidence were flawed. The Minister might comment on the fact that retired Judge McCartan was provided with the resources to obtain expert scientific inputs and opinions into Ms Foy's dossier. Instead he seemed content to subject it to a critique of its literary style as if he was writing for the book review sections of the Sunday newspapers.

Last January, Deputy Broughan’s motion should have laid the basis for the independent full inquiry the families sought. Instead we were brought on a cruel year-long detour that the Minister clearly hopes will satisfy the wider public. Unfortunately, there were mainstream media columnists in the likes of the Sunday Timesand the Irish Examinerwho were all too ready to weigh in behind Judge McCartan and the Government in November. However, I hope last Tuesday's documentary, the support of Deputies

on this side of the Dáil and our Dublin City councillor colleagues and above all, the ongoing efforts of the families will all serve to sustain the struggle.

I want to end by quoting an email my party colleague in the Dublin Bay North Constituency, Councillor Michael O'Brien, received this morning from Maurice Frazer whose sister Thelma and her boyfriend Michael perished in the fire. I think it captures in a few paragraphs the deep hurt and at the same time the resolve that characterises these brave families.

It reads:

Hi Michael,

After Minister Flanagan’s decision to wash his hands, like many Ministers of Justice before I am deeply depressed and very angry once again. When these feelings hit you, you just want to give up. But my family and I will NEVER give up on my sister Thelma and her boyfriend Michael and the 46 others who were, KILLED by GREED and IGNORED by JUSTICE.

I regret that I cannot stomach going into Dáil Éireann for today’s debate. I want you to convey my feelings to the Dáil. I still respect the Dáil [for] which my Grandfather fought ... and was imprisoned for during the times of the rebellion and the fight for Independence, but I cannot help in thinking of what he would think of the Legislators of the past 36 years, denying his Granddaughter her right for Justice.

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