DPP rejects perjury prosecutions for witnesses in 1981 Stardust fire Tribunal

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) will not order prosecutions of witnesses who allegedly committed perjury during the 1981 Stardust fire Tribunal, The Irish Times reports.

Correspondence seen by the newspaper confirms the DPP has decided not to pursue prosecutions after receiving a file from gardaí, who opened a criminal investigation in 2013 into allegations of perjury during the Tribunal proceedings.

The Tribunal, which was chaired by former Chief Justice Ronan Keane, found that the cause of the devastating fire at the Stardust nightclub in Dublin was “probable arson”.

The fire killed 48 people and injured another 214.

A campaign group called the Stardust Victims Committee has called for the inquiry to be re-opened due to apparent contradictions between the Tribunal’s findings and the testimony of some witnesses.

However, the DPP said there was no basis for prosecution on the basis of the file submitted by gardaí.

It also pointed out that allegations of perjury during Tribunal proceedings are governed by the Tribunal of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921, making the offence distinct from perjury in a court of law.