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The Government has announced that € 8 million in funding has been allocated for investigations of the victims of the 1981 Stardust fire.
The financing is part of its Budget 2021 plan, which was announced today at the Convention Center.
In September last year, then-Attorney General Séamus Woulfe confirmed that inquiries will be carried out for the 48 victims of the Valentine’s Day tragedy. More than 200 people were also injured in the fire in Artane, Dublin.
The decision followed a request from the victims’ families in April 2019.
Last December, the Attorney General issued instructions to the Dublin District Coroner for further investigations.
Families have continued to campaign for answers about the cause of the tragedy.
When the new inquiries were announced, Séamus Woulfe said he was satisfied that the conduct of the further inquiries was, on the whole, in the public interest and justice.
Several investigations have been carried out into the tragedy, including a Court of Investigation, but the families of the dead and injured are not satisfied with the previous findings.
The original Court of Investigation determined that the cause of the fire was likely arson, a finding that infuriated the families of those who had died as they said it had damaged the reputations of their loved ones.
That finding was later overturned by another investigation in 2009.
The Justice Department has said the final costs of the investigation will not be clear “for some time.” It says that the final costs will depend on the duration and costs of legal advice and other experts that the coroner deems necessary.
The department says elements of the public-facing investigation are expected to begin early next year.
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