Stardust compensation scheme a “shambles”, say Northside TDs

The long-awaited Stardust recognition scheme has been greeted with a cold response, with one TD saying it “adds further stress and pain to survivors.”

On Tuesday (February 10), Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan announced details of the recognition scheme for survivors, with the Fianna Fáil Minister saying he was mindful of the 45th anniversary of the tragedy.

The scheme, which entitles survivors of the 1981 fire to €20,000, has been described as a “shambles.”

Survivor Antoinette Keegan, who lost her sisters Martina and Mary in the fire, told the Irish Independent, “they (the government) have broken all the promises for the survivors’ redress. They’ve broken every one of the promises that they made initially.”

“I’m disappointed that the previous commitment that was given by the last government has been abandoned without any reason,” she told the publication.

In August 2024, a €24 million redress package was approved for families of victims of the fire, which saw families of those who lost someone in the fire receive €500,000.

An August 2024 statement from the government read “the finalisation of this redress package is the culmination of a series of steps the government has taken to recognise the State’s failure to provide truth and justice over more than 40 years to the families whose 48 relatives were killed in a fire, which was subsequently found by inquest to be unlawful killing.”

At the time, then-Taoiseach Simon Harris said that the government would engage with the families over the course of the redress scheme, a promise which appears not to have materialised.

Now, over a year later, when survivors of the fire looked to get their shot at justice, the reception has been decidedly more muted.

The new scheme, which will see survivors of the fire receive €20,000, has been greeted with a strongly negative reaction.

There was dismay among survivors about having to find out through the media instead of being directly consulted by the government.

Minister O’Callaghan explained, “I am determined that the process that will now be implemented will be as simple as possible. It will not place a significant burden of proof on survivors, or be overly bureaucratic, and it will be accessible without legal assistance.”

 “It is not intended to constitute ‘compensation’ for the injuries and trauma sustained by those who survived the fire, as that was the scope of the original tribunal, but instead, what is proposed is a payment which recognises the delays in providing truth and justice,” he claimed.

“Given the passage of time, it is also of the utmost importance that the proposal does not give rise to any further trauma for applicants.”

The Dublin Bay South TD added, “my department will now prepare arrangements for the implementation of this scheme. Full details, including the simplified applications process, will be available shortly.”

The Minister’s words have been greeted coldly by Northside TDs.

Dublin Bay North TDs Cian O’Callaghan and Denise Mitchell were among the fiercest critics of the scheme and its announcement, with O’Callaghan stating, “this one-size-fits-all approach to compensation also reneges on previous commitments to deal separately with those who suffered the most serious injuries.”

 The Social Democrats TD described the move as “the latest setback for survivors”, and that the scheme “continues a shameful pattern of poor consultation, broken promises and inadequate compensation by successive governments – each one eager to wash its hands of this appalling tragedy.”

“The handling of this latest fiasco is an insult to a group of people who have already suffered unimaginable pain and trauma. I am now calling on the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan to urgently meet with survivors,” the Dublin Bay North TD said.

Fellow Northside Social Democrat TD Gary Gannon called the government’s handling of the affair “shameful” and “insensitive.”

 “The €20,000 being offered across the board has no regard for the extent of each survivor’s injuries or lifelong suffering. To put it in context, it amounts to just over €400 per year for each year that justice was denied to the Stardust families,” the Dublin Central TD noted.

 “The failure by the Minister for Justice to consult with survivors before announcing details of the scheme is inexcusable and risks retraumatising those who have suffered state neglect and abandonment for decades.”

Sinn Féin TD Mitchell criticised the fact that victims, who are eligible for the scheme, had to find out through the media.

Since the current government took office in January 2025, it has developed a habit of announcing major schemes or projects without consulting the involved parties.

In recent months, announcements about classrooms for students with additional needs or housing schemes being cancelled were made through the media without input from schools or, indeed, elected representatives being informed about the decisions.

Mitchell noted that the government has rowed back on a previous commitment to provide survivors with a sliding scale of compensation, which would acknowledge the severity of injuries sustained.

She said that the government has abandoned the plan, which she said would have been fairer to the injured.

Mitchell said, “the reaction by families should be enough for the government to admit it has made a mistake here with this announcement. There should be an urgent rethink from the government and commitment to a proper compensation scheme that respects the victims of the Stardust disaster.”

Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan said that the scheme was “utterly disgraceful.”

“The government needs to go back to the drawing board with the scheme. There was a commitment given to the families that a consultation process would be used to design the scheme, but there has been zero consultation,” she asserted.

Boylan noted that compensation is only being offered to those who went through the Barrington Tribunal, which she said was “deeply traumatising” for those who took part, and “divided the tightly knit community for years.”

“The government was implored by the families to not repeat the mistakes of the past, but they have utterly ignored these pleas; this scheme feels like a box-ticking exercise that has been created with no regard or respect for the victims,” she said.

Darragh Mackin of Phoenix Law told RTÉ that the government’s announcement  “reneges upon previous agreements, and in particular, the commitment that the victims would be engaged in the process”.

“It is not too late to salvage this process before confidence is eroded beyond repair,” Mackin said, who has worked with survivors and families of those involved in the tragedy.