'A new dawn' - Cabinet signs off on €24 million redress programme for families of Stardust victims
The confirmation of the redress programme comes several months after Taoiseach Simon Harris delivered a State apology to the victims of the Stardust tragedy and their families
The Government has signed off on a €24m redress scheme for the families of the victims of the Stardust fire tragedy.
The scheme has been described as a “new dawn” for the families who saw 48 of their loved ones perish in the 1981 Artane nightclub blaze.
A Cabinet meeting was held on Friday afternoon to agree to the plans brought forward by Taoiseach Simon Harris and Justice Minister Helen McEntee.
READ MORE: Engagement with Stardust families on redress set to start this week
READ MORE: Taoiseach remembers 49th victim of Stardust tragedy as he makes "unreserved" apology to families
The ex gratia redress awards totalling €24 million were agreed with the families’ legal representatives. It will see families receive €500,000 per victim who died in the fire.
“The finalisation of this redress package is the culmination of a series of steps the Government has taken to recognise the State's failure to provide truth and justice over more than forty years to the families whose 48 relatives were killed in a firewhich was subsequently found by inquest to be unlawful killing,” a statement read.
Speaking after the announcementthe Taoiseach said: “I absolutely knowas do the familiesthat there is no sum of money that in any manner or means replaces the loss of a loved one.”
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A separate redress scheme will be developed for survivors.
Some 48 people died in the fire in the Artane nightclub on St Valentine’s night in 1981with dozens more injured.
A jury at the Dublin District Coroner's Court returned a verdict of unlawful killing in all 48 cases in April. There had been previous suggestions that the fire was a result of arson. This was followed by a State apology.
Speaking on RTÉ’s LivelineAntoinette Keeganwho survived the Stardust blazewelcomed the annoucement. Her sisters Mary and Martinaboth lost their lives in the fire.
“43 years is a long time waiting,” she said,
“But at the same timethe Government. Simon Harristhe Taoiseachprogressed so well on this. When we got the verdicthe was in Brusselshe rang me on my mobile and he agreed to meet us and he met us the following Saturday.
“Then we gave him all the concerns that we had and he listened to all the families and took everything on board and what they were looking for.
“He has addressed this in a very dignified way. He has addressed it personally himselfeven down to commemorationthe public apology.
"I have to say one thing about himand I will always say itin 43 years of having Taoiseachshe is the only decent Taoiseach we’ve ever had. No Taoiseach has ever listened to any of our concerns before. Never asked anything. Never asked us how we felt.”
Darragh Mackinpartner at Phoenix Law firm who represents the Stardust familiessaid the scheme was a “gateway to a new dawn for the families of these victims”.
“The unprecedented sum paid to the families is reflective of the unprecedented miscarriage of justice bestowed on these families,” he said.
“These payments are the gateway to a new dawn for the families of these victims. A new dawn whereby the truth is knownand where they can noweach return to a life free from injustice and litigation. A new dawn whereby their families will be compensated with the greatest prize of all: the return of their families and friends who for four decades have been absent due to their unrivalled devotion to justice.”
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