Vivienne Clarke
Stardust campaigner Antoinette Keegan has said that she does not accept the apologies from two TDs – Sean Haughey and Richard Bruton, which were made in the Dáil on Tuesday.
Ms Keegan told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland programme that many of the Starudst families were “very annoyed and angry” by the apologies.
She said she had telephoned Sean Haughey’s office “so many times over the years” and had been told repeatedly that he would call her back, and he did not do so.
Following the McCartan report in 2017, the Stardust relatives were told by both politicians “it’s over” and that all that could be done had been done, she said.
“So I don’t accept their apologies because they locked the doors from us getting in. We were locked out. We were locked out from getting in. In the Stardust we were locked in with the chains and doors, but they locked the doors from helping us. I was very annoyed with them for the apology because it was just for them to look good for the public.”
Ms Keegan said that former Taoiseach Charlie Haughey had caused a lot of damage when he called for a tribunal on the day that her sisters Mary and Martina were being buried.
That tribunal, which sat for 122 days, concluded that arson had been a probable cause for the fire, she said. “That actually obstructed us and left us in limbo for five years because we could not take a case to the court against anybody because arson was on the record.
“No one was responsible. There were 841 people in the disco, so any one of us was an arsonist that night, including the 48. And that stood on the record for 27 years.
“So in actual fact, Charlie Haughey and the government of the day in 1981 interfered in their judicial rights giving us a tribunal of inquiry, which was illegal and it was a legal right, with the conclusion we got of arson, was on the record for 27 years, until both myself, my mother, Katie Barrett, Eugene Kelly persisted and persisted with the government for a new inquiry.
“And then we got Paul Coffey, who is a High Court judge now. We got him and he said arson has to be removed. I’ll get the new inquiry. So the government chose to remove arson but never initiated the criminal investigation. And once arson was removed, they should have initiated the investigation into who caused the fire.”
Redress or compensation were not a priority for her, said Ms Keegan. She called for a day of commemoration and also for the Stardust disaster to be included in the curriculum for primary and secondary school students.
Redress scheme
Minister for Finance Michael McGrath has said he believes it would be appropriate to have some form of redress scheme for the families of the Stardust fire victims, following “meaningful consultation and engagement” with the families.
Mr McGrath praised the families for their resilience and strength and described them as “inspirational”.
There were now a number of practical measures that needed to be implemented, he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland. “The recommendations from the coroner’s report will have to be implemented, and the government has given that commitment.
“There will be an appropriate form of commemoration, but that has to be done in genuine consultation with the families concerned.
“For too long they’ve been left out in the cold. They are very much now going to be inside and shaping and influencing the decisions that are going to be made in the future. And the families didn’t want the issue of redress to be centre stage yesterday.
“For some, it’s not a priority. But I do believe it is appropriate that there would be a redress scheme and government now will give consideration to that. Quite quickly. And we’re conscious that for many of these families, the parents in particular, time is not on their side.
“So there’s a balance to be struck between speed, but also doing it on the basis of meaningful consultation and engagement with the families. And that will now take place. But yesterday was a day for the apology, and I think that the Taoiseach did it very, very well.”
When asked if a redress scheme would be within the lifetime of the current government, Mr McGrath said the government would not be making any promises that “end up being false.”
“We will do everything we possibly can to work with the families now, to build on yesterday and to work on all of these priorities, the commemoration, the implementation of the recommendations, some of which will involve different government departments, may involve legislation and so on, and then the establishment of a redress scheme.
“But the work will now be prioritised and, we will make it happen as quickly as we possibly can. But we don’t know for certain what is precisely the length of the government’s term that’s left. So I don’t want to give any commitments that we can’t ultimately deliver upon. I think there has been too much of that in the past.”
Mr McGrath said that the Department of the Taoiseach would play a leadership role, but other government departments, particularly Justice, will have an important role to play when it comes to recommendations, but it would need to be a whole of government approach.
“We’ll all do whatever we can do to help and to try and strip away any bureaucracy, that normally might slow things down. This is an exceptional issue. Yesterday was an important day 43 years on.
“It’s a very, very long time. And, that really was just brought home to me, sitting in the chamber and looking at the families and just the length of time and just to hear the harrowing accounts of what happened.
“You know, for many of us who were too young to remember, it really is a scar on our society. And the way that they were treated is just not acceptable. We do have to learn lessons from it when it comes to other issues as well. But they’re remarkable people, and we just have to work with them now and not allow this to be a one-day issue. The apology was important, but it can’t be the end.”
