Concerns Stardust inquest may sit without jury

The families also ask the Minister that she allow for the Coroner to have access to the electoral register in order for the Coroner herself to pick the jury.

There are concerns the Stardust inquest may have to sit without a jury.

The inquest into the blaze which killed 48 young people is tipped to be the longest in the history of the state and held its ninth pre-inquest hearing on Wednesday where the court heard that the issue of paying jurors may affect the jury selection.

Inquest juries are not paid like they are in criminal cases, and the Stardust Inquest has no means to pay people for their lost earnings.

Typically in criminal cases, a juror’s employer is supposed to continue to pay them while they serve. There is no such legislation for those on coroner juries.

Senior Counsel for the majority of the families, Michael O'Higgins said the issue is "nuclear" for the hearings.

Mr O'Higgins says the suggestion that the inquest could run without a jury was put to the families and there was consternation and anger.

"One of the comments made was, 'We're not drug dealers, this isn't the Special Criminal Court,'" he said.

Juries for Coroner's inquest are in an "unusual" position, the court heard, the Oireachtas has previously taken the decision that Coroner Juries are considered completely separate from criminal juries.

Counsel to the inquest, Simon Mills, noted the Coroners Act says "very little" about juries, and as amended in 2019 where the Oireachtas would've had a chance to change the law about juries and "decided not to do so".

A letter sent from the majority of the families to the Minister of Justice Helen McEntee, and seen by the Irish Examiner, called on the government to intervene.

The letter notes it is "wholly unsatisfactory and indeed unrealistic" to expect any juror to serve where they would not be reimbursed for their wages and time.

The letter noted it was "not fair" to ask people to serve in excess of six months.

The legal teams for the families have suggested that Helen McEntee craft "a one-line bill" that could allow for the Juries Act to be extended to the Stardust Inquest to allow for wages to be covered by a jury.

The families also ask the Minister that she allow for the Coroner to have access to the electoral register in order for the Coroner herself to pick the jury.

The letter adds that had "been argued by some that An Garda Siochana should have a central role in selecting jurors despite the fact they are a party whose conduct is at issue".

The Coroner has made it repeatedly clear she wants a jury to preside over the inquests, however as the law stands, the inquests could be held without one.

The popular nightclub in Artane, Dublin, was destroyed in a blaze on Valentine’s Day in 1981 in what is considered the worst fire disaster in the history of the state.

Investigations into the fire showed that a number of escape routes from the dance hall were blocked as emergency doors were locked by chains. Concerns have also been raised about the investigation of the scene, which allowed politicians and media to walk through the building just hours later.

Despite findings of safety breaches, there were no prosecutions over the incident.

An initial finding of probable arson meant that the relatives of the dead and injured were unable to sue the club owners and operators for alleged negligence.