Families of Stardust victims entitled to legal aid

Families of the victims of the Stardust fire will be granted legal aid for new inquests into the deaths of their relatives.

This follows the signing of the Civil Legal Aid Regulations 2021 by Minister for Justice Heather Humphreys.

In a statement released yesterday evening, a spokesperson for the Justice Minister said she had signed the regulations which will allow all families of Stardust victims to access legal aid regardless of their means.

It was an inability for some families to access legal aid that was delaying the start of the inquests which were first ordered by the Attorney General in September 2019.

The families concerned are asked to engage with the Legal Aid Board if they wish to receive legal support as soon as possible and those applications will be reviewed “immediately”.

A bespoke courtroom has been built in the RDS for the Stardust inquest, with remote technology installed.