Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will focus the little time I have on the part of this Bill that attempts to deal with the Stardust tragedy. I was only six years old in 1981 and I do not remember the tragedy happening. What I remember is the lingering conversations over the years about how 48 young people went to a St. Valentine's eve disco and never came home. I remember how the adults in my life were upset not just by the fact that so many young lives had been lost but also that there was no justice for their families. I am from a similar working-class community to that of many who died in the Stardust, albeit on the opposite side of the city, and there has always been the question that families from working-class areas just did not count.

Since 1981, the families of the young people who died in the Stardust have had to face many obstacles to get justice. The first inquest focused solely on the medical cause of death and did not focus on any of the surrounding factors related to the fire. As I grew older, I remember the anniversaries of the Stardust and how the families marked them at ten years, 20 years, 30 years and 40 years. Forty years have passed without justice for these grieving families. A ruling from the Attorney General in 2020 noted that the original inquests amounted to an insufficient inquiry and called for a fresh inquest. We welcome the inclusion of provisions for the inquests, although there are some issues regarding jury selection that still have to be resolved.

I met with the families and campaigners for justice a number of times over the years. I remember a family fun day in my area, Bawnogue, on the other side of the city that I spoke about. The Stardust families were there making the next generation aware of their loss and their fight for justice. Let us hope the families do not have to inform any more generations about this quest for justice. Some family members I met that day, tragically, have passed away and are no longer here.

I commend the families of the 48 young people who never came home, and the communities they come from, on their tireless efforts over the past four decades. I also commend my colleague, Senator Boylan, on her consistent and insistent calls for justice and the support she has given the families over the years. I am often very critical of the Government, but I also acknowledge and commend the Minister on bringing this Bill forward. It is to be hoped the families will get an answer at the end of this process.

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