Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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287. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide the detail of her recent meeting with the Stardust victims committee; if the inquiry will be reopened in view of new evidence presented to her; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49047/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I met with the Stardust Relatives' and Victims Committee in July of this year and this meeting provided an opportunity for me to hear their concerns at first hand. At that meeting the Committee and their representatives set out, in some detail, their concerns in relation to the Inquiries into this matter that have been undertaken previously and some related financial issues that have arisen. I indicated to the Committee that, while I am prepared to examine matters they wish to bring to my attention, I am anxious that no unrealistic expectations about what can be achieved are raised. Following that meeting, I appointed an official in my Department to liaise with the Committee and they have engaged with the Committee and their representatives in relation to these matters. With regard to the question of any new evidence that might warrant the consideration of a further inquiry, two reports compiled by a researcher associated with the Committee were submitted to my Department since my meeting with the Committee. However, subsequently the researcher concerned requested the return of these reports; my Department complied with this request. My Department has requested that the decision to withdraw these reports be reconsidered so that the reports can be the subject of examination in my Department.

I wish also to inform the Deputy that allegations raised by the Stardust Relatives' and Victims Committee and their representatives in relation to certain matters are the subject of an ongoing investigation by An Garda Síochána. I am informed, by the Garda Commissioner, that this is a complex investigation and, you will understand, I cannot do anything that might cut across this investigation.