The families and survivors of the 1981 Stardust fire in Dublin have received confirmation from the Attorney General that he will grant a new inquest into the blaze that killed 48 people.

The solicitor representing Irish woman Lisa Smith who travelled to join Islamic State in Syria, is calling on the Irish government to bring her home and if necessary prosecute her under Irish law.

“Martina Elaine Keegan died on the 14 February 1981 from extensive burns and carbon monoxide poisoning, received when fire broke out at the Stardust Club, Kilmore Rd Artane, Dublin, on that date.”

One of the Grenfell fire investigators and other international experts have thrown their support behind calls by the Stardust fire families for fresh inquests into the deaths of their loved ones.

Inquiries into Garda handling of the deaths of four men and fraud allegations against another have run into difficulties amid concerns over delays, insufficient resources, and overly restrictive terms of reference.

Ibrahim Halawa's solicitor says there is no reason he cannot be home in Ireland by next week.

Ministers and diplomats are working to get Ibrahim Halawa home “as soon as possible” after his four-year ordeal in an Egyptian prison came to an end when a Cairo court acquitted him of all the charges against him.

The family of Irishman Ibrahim Halawa who has spent the last four years in jail in Egypt are preparing to sue over delayed verdicts in the trial.

Latest: The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has told Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi that he is disappointed at the delay in Ibrahim Halawa's verdict.

The police's failure to conduct an overarching examination of state collusion with a notorious loyalist murder gang in Northern Ireland was inconsistent with its human rights obligations, a judge has found.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald held meetings this week to discuss allegations that senior gardaí covered up claims of sex abuse in Waterford.

Victims of serial paedophile Bill Kenneally are to sue the State and have called for a commission of investigation into who knew about the abuse and “turned a blind eye”.

Amnesty International has said another postponement in the trial of an Irishman in Egypt is proof the north African country’s criminal justice system is spiralling out of control.