Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome that commitment. Quite clearly under the Coroners Act, Mr. Séamus Woulfe has the power to order a second inquest and there is no doubt that the papers requesting that inquest, with detailed grounds, will be served on him in the coming weeks.

In Northern Ireland a new inquest has been ordered on approximately 56 different occasions. The inquest that was held into the Stardust tragedy dealt only with medical evidence of death and not with how the young people lost their lives. The Attorney General can expect the request soon and I ask the Taoiseach to liaise closely with him. It should be noted that the Stardust Relatives and Victims Committee, some of whom are in the Public Gallery today, have received strong support from the Hillsborough families and from the Justice for the 96 campaign.

Another striking feature of this morning was the massive support we received from the people of Derry and, indeed, there were some young women from Derry in The Stardust on that fateful night. Of course, that is very striking because, as the Taoiseach knows, the original Bloody Sunday inquiry by Lord Widgery was a whitewash and was overturned by the Saville inquiry. Is the Taoiseach committing to ask the Attorney General to grant and prioritise the holding of a new inquest and will he also commit to meet the committee and its solicitor, Mr. Macken?

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