Human rights court questions state over Stardust inquiries

THE European Court of Human Rights has asked the state to respond to several questions over its handling of official investigations into the Stardust fire tragedy.

Relatives of victims of the fire, which killed 48 people after it engulfed the nightclub in Artane, Dublin, on February 13, 1981, are taking a case against the state before the court.

They claim their relatives’ rights were breached under the European Convention on Human Rights as a result of successive governments’ failure to carry out an effective, independent and prompt investigation. The group also claims that there was insufficient public scrutiny and insufficient involvement of victims in any of the official inquiries. They also claim there was not adequate punishment of people and institutions responsible for the deaths of the Stardust victims.