State Papers 1990: Plans for doctors who treated Stardust fire victims to advise Government opposed by Health Minister

“Stardust was a very specialised disaster in that physical injuries were caused by fire – i.e. burns and smoke inhalation with psychological sequelae in some cases,” said Dr O’Hanlon.

Plans to establish a small committee of doctors who had treated victims of the Stardust fire tragedy to advise the Government on the medical care of survivors of future disasters were opposed by the Minister for Health, Rory O’Hanlon, State papers have revealed.

Newly-released Government files from 1990 show the Minister for Justice, Ray Burke, had submitted a memo to the Government in December 1989 on the report of the Stardust Victims Compensation Tribunal which reviewed compensation awards for the victims of the fire at the Stardust nightclub in Artane on February 14, 1981, which resulted in the deaths of 48 people and injuries to over 200 individuals.