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Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald announcing the 1985 scheme. RTÉ Archives

State Papers 1985: Garret Fitzgerald's government wasn't too keen on helping Stardust victims

An official wanted a redress scheme kept well away from the Taoiseach’s department.

AN OFFICIAL IN the office of the then-taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald wanted a 1985 redress scheme for victims of the Stardust fire disaster kept “as far away from this department as possible”.

Minutes of a government meeting from the time show that an unnamed advisor to the Taoiseach was worried that a new compensation scheme could cause “chaos” if a minister didn’t take responsibility for it.

He didn’t, however, want that responsibility anywhere near his office.

The confidential documents from the Department of the Taoiseach in October 1985 have been released under the 30 year rule.

Notes for the cabinet meeting show that the Stardust scheme was second on the agenda with Fitzgerald’s department clearly concerned about how it was going to work. The notes show the official saying the following:

Unless ministerial responsibility for the administration of this scheme is fixed soon, there will be chaos. Who is to deal with applications? Who is to advise on compensation? Who will deal with parliamentary questions?

He goes on to suggest that the departments of Justice or Environment are best placed to deal with the scheme.

“Essentially, I think that the whole issue, which will involve a lot of detailed work, and could be highly controversial, should be kept as far from this department as possible.”

The Taoiseach’s advisor is referring to a scheme for the almost 300 people who’d sought compensation for the 1981 Valentine’s Day fire at the Stardust club in Artane in Dublin.

A total of 48 people died in the worst fire disaster in the history of the state with 128 other people seriously hurt.

The new State-funded scheme was chaired by High Court Judge Dónal Barrington and was to decide the level of compensation for the victims.

The claimants could either accept the level of award offered and forgo further legal proceedings, or turn down the award and proceed with their legal action in the normal way.

Read: Stardust campaigners to hand new information to Minister over fatal fire >

Read: Stardust campaigners met with Frances Fitzgerald but weren’t happy with the outcome >

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28 Comments
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    Mute Maurice Frazer
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    Dec 31st 2015, 9:24 AM

    So much for Garrett, telling my late mam he would do everything in his power to get Justice and closure for our sister Thelma and the 47 other victims and their families .Time and time again the families have been obstructed in our quest for Justice by faceless Civil Servants

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    Mute Ciarán Masterson
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    Dec 31st 2015, 11:32 AM

    Maurice, I’m sorry for your loss.

    The meeting that was the subject of the minutes that were released were about redress, not justice.

    The Office of the DPP, which decides whether or not to prosecute, is independent. Garrett would have been in the wrong if he had interfered with that process.

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    Mute Maurice Frazer
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    Dec 31st 2015, 12:30 PM

    The question is though, just how independent are the DPP ? , even the Judge that released the Stardust report, had strange links to Haughey , Haughey in turn had a few weeks before the fire had been to a Butterly family function.

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    Mute lavbeer
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    Dec 31st 2015, 2:26 PM

    The DPP is appointed by the government. He who pays the fiddler calls the tune.

    34
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    Mute Tony Skillington
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    Dec 31st 2015, 2:44 PM

    So even back in 1985 FG were a shower of w**kers?

    46
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    Mute The Green Monkey
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    Dec 31st 2015, 8:53 AM

    Shame there is a 30 year waiting period after which time there are very few around to answer for there actions……..

    143
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    Mute OU812
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    Dec 31st 2015, 10:36 AM

    That’s precisely why there’s a 30 year delay.

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    Mute Harry
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    Dec 31st 2015, 9:06 AM

    The victims and families of the Stardust tragedy have been let down by every government since Haughys

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    Mute MikeOBrien4fm
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    Dec 31st 2015, 8:34 AM

    It doesnt say much for the compassion of that ‘department official’ now does it.

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    Mute Vocal Outrage
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    Dec 31st 2015, 8:39 AM

    If you think about it, having a line minister run the scheme would then leave the Taoiseachs office free to be an arbitrator of any issues. Not about compassion or not, more, practicalities.

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    Mute Keith Pa
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    Dec 31st 2015, 10:24 AM

    My opinion about this is that the department official was probably a Finna Fail supporter throwing a spanner in the works on such a sensitive issue to mess up Fine Gail. Most of those official would’ve went in there under Fianna Fail as they were more or less always in government and that’s where their own private political support would’ve been with some of them willing to throw out the odd trap for fine Gael along the way when the chance arose.

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    Mute Alan Lawlor
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    Dec 31st 2015, 10:32 AM

    Exactly- we were then a country of 3.5m people and now well over 4m. There are hundreds of thousands of people working in the public and civil services.
    Having a Taoiseach taking personal oversight for every issue affecting the country is physically impossible. The advisor merely pointed this out. It was not merely a single one-off decision to be made. It is the Dail questions from TDs, on single cases, etc. etc.
    This is why we have ministerial cabinets, ministers of state, etc etc. To delegate the huge amount of time and effort.

    34
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    Mute @mdmak33
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    Dec 31st 2015, 9:13 AM

    Being a traitor,slimeball,is engrained into fg DNA,evidently.

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    Mute Pius Flynn
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    Dec 31st 2015, 9:54 AM

    No FG government was ever keen on helping anyone but themselves.

    84
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    Mute B-Egan
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    Dec 31st 2015, 10:15 AM

    Sounds familiar oh ya the Ryan report .. Not of the right social persuasion you see. Cherish all the children equally was the war cry . The feckin state of our country now thats what you get for the subservient attitude . Misery. Cop on

    67
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    Mute B-Egan
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    Dec 31st 2015, 10:11 AM

    Fine Gael victim assessment ! Working Class .. Conclusion .. Not bothered. RIP to the people who lost their lives .

    63
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    Mute Ger
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    Dec 31st 2015, 10:57 AM

    Hope everyone remembers that the government actually kept notes back then, not like now. How many times has this government had meetings without notes been taken.

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    Mute Jack Bowden
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    Dec 31st 2015, 9:25 AM

    I don’t like the headline.
    He did want to help the Star Dust victims, he wanted The Department of Environment look after the implementation of the compensation.

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    Mute B-Egan
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    Dec 31st 2015, 10:16 AM

    Aha sure so they did’nt and Garrett, forgot worked out well for the toffs in power so .

    38
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    Mute Jack Bowden
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    Dec 31st 2015, 12:48 PM

    The headline was changed. I’d delete that comment if I could.

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    Mute Gary Brennan
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    Dec 31st 2015, 11:16 AM

    It’s called blue shirt sympathy, to hell with the ordinary folk.

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    Mute HOTBank
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    Dec 31st 2015, 9:01 AM

    Less Government not wanting to deal with it than overpaid civil servant not wanting something to disturb his Thursday afternoon “Course” work

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    Mute C de Gallaidhe
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    Dec 31st 2015, 1:41 PM

    Christy said it best: ‘Our laws favour the rich, Or so it appears’…

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    Mute Brian Rochford
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    Dec 31st 2015, 10:47 AM

    Misleading headline again Journal.

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    Mute Jack Bowden
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    Dec 31st 2015, 12:45 PM

    I think the headline was changed or am I imagining things. I thought it said “he didn’t want to help the Star Dust victims” and now it says he “wasn’t too keen”.
    The journal can edit their headlines and articles whenever they want but we can’t edit our comments.

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    Mute Joey Gee
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    Dec 31st 2015, 12:10 PM

    I might get into trouble for this but, honestly, I don’t care.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBraqPaa0hk

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    Mute Kevin Denny
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    Jan 1st 2016, 1:02 PM

    The tweet to this article says Garrett didn’t want to help but it’s clearly nothing to do with him: it was an unnamed official. The headline here says the government didn’t want to help the victims, again this is clearly not true: it was about which department. Sloppy, sensationalist journalism.

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