Victims of the Stardust fire have accused the Government of failing to provide adequate counselling for survivors and claim many still suffer from post-traumatic shock disorder, suicidal tendencies and panic attacks.
A spokesman for the Stardust Victims Committee, Mr Jimmy Dunne, said yesterday that many survivors of the St Valentine's Day tragedy still relied on barbiturates and alcohol to help them sleep at night, 22 years later. The fire in the Stardust disco in Artane, Dublin - the worst in the history of the State - claimed 48 lives.
The committee will meet a senior Department of Justice official next month to discuss its grievances. "We are very angry about the way we were treated after the fire by the government. In particular, the lack of counselling and follow-up of the victims and their families," said Mr Dunne on the eve of the Stardust anniversary. He said 26 people had attempted suicide because of the guilt, remorse and raw emotion caused by the fire.
The Stardust Victims Committee is demanding to know why there were no doctors or psychiatrists present for oral hearings at the 1985 Barrington Compensation Tribunal into the tragedy. Its adviser, Ms Geraldine Foy, said the group was questioning the tribunal's conclusion that the fire started on a seat in the west alcove at 1.41 a.m.
"The source of ignition was never found so it was impossible to conclude the facts and findings of the evidence. How then did he also conclude that the fire was 'probably started deliberately'?" she said.
The committee will also ask the Department of Justice why the owner of the building was never prosecuted for breaching several by-laws, including the locking of a fire exit, the obstruction of other exits and the failure to ever hold a fire drill. Ms Foy said: "Survivors of the fire still sleep with the light on, and are afraid to lock the bathroom door.
"They are scarred by the memory imprint of running around a dark building in the heat and thick black smoke, stepping on dead bodies, with no way out."