Stardust survivor challenges Government's €20,000 redress scheme in High Court
A file photo of Jimmy Fitzpatrick who was in the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin, on the night of the fire on February 14, 1981. File picture: Maxwell's
A survivor of the Stardust nightclub fire in 1981 was left 'aghast' after hearing that the Government intends to offer just €20,000 compensation to those injured in the disaster, the High Court has heard.
The compensation offer is limited to those who participated in a tribunal held in 1985.
Lawyers for Jimmy Fitzpatrick, who was 16 at the time and suffered catastrophic burns, told the court the decision came "out of the blue" following their client's 40 years of campaigning for justice.
Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty granted leave to Mr Fitzpatrick to seek a judicial review of the payment scheme. Mr Fitzpatrick wants the Government to engage with survivors before setting the parameters of the scheme.
In 2023, Mr Fitzpatrick told the official inquiry into the disaster that he spent nearly four months in hospital having suffered 'catastrophic' and 'life-changing' third-degree burns to his arms, back, neck, shoulders and face.
He became emotional as he told the tribunal about his friend, Liam Dunne (18), looking over the partition between their hospital beds and telling him: "Jimmy, we made it this far, we'll get out and we'll have a couple of pints." Mr Dunne died a short time later from his injuries.
In April 2024, after 122 days of hearings, the inquest jury returned verdicts of unlawful killing in relation to the 48 people who died in the blaze. They found that the fire, which broke out on the night of February 14, 1981, originated in a hot press as a result of an electrical fault.
Read More
The State apologised for decades of failures in recognising the suffering of survivors, and the Government made a public commitment to a financial redress scheme, divided into two phases.
Phase one was for the 48 bereaved families, who received a flat payment of €500K each. Phase two was to be for the injured survivors, who were told that payments would be tailored to each person, avoiding a 'flat' payment fee.
At the High Court today, Michael L O'Higgins SC, with Katie Stevens BL, told Ms Justice Gearty that Mr Fitzpatrick's solicitors, Phoenix Law, had written to the minister in July and September of last year requesting confirmation that engagement would commence with survivors' representatives and that details of the implementation of this second phase would be established.
In the ex-parte application — where only one side is represented — lawyers submitted that in February 2026, the minister announced what amounted to a "non-tiered payment of €20,000 for survivors, limited to those who had participated in the 1985 Tribunal". Mr Fitzpatrick's lawyers said the scheme was being introduced "without any engagement or consultation" with survivors.
It is submitted that this decision "abandoned the promise of the second 'exceptionality' phase and imposed a new eligibility criterion, based solely on the 1985 Tribunal participation, which many survivors then regarded as exclusionary and procedurally unsuitable".
Mr O'Higgins submitted to Ms Justice Gearty the decision came "out of the blue, to say the least" and left his client — a campaigner for justice for over 40 years — "aghast".
Counsel said the minister used "Jesuitical language" in response to requests from Phoenix Law as to how matters were proceeding.
Mr O'Higgins is seeking a High Court declaration that the implementation of phase two without engaging with survivors is unlawful, contrary to fair procedures and in breach of the Constitution.
He further seeks a High Court order directing the minister to reconsider the second phase of the payment programme through "meaningful engagement with survivors and their representatives and to publish a consultation framework and timelines, a draft scheme of parameters for 'exceptionality' and a lawful eligibility criteria for redress, not based solely upon participation in the 1985 tribunal."
Mr Fitzparick, of Swords, Co Dublin, has taken his case against the Office of the justice minister and the Attorney General.
Having granted leave to Mr O'Higgins, Ms Justice Gearty adjourned the matter to November.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
