Efforts will be made to identify the remains of five victims of the 1981 Stardust nightclub fire, it was revealed tonight.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern made the pledge after meeting with six members of the Stardust Victims' Committee at Government Buildings. The committee wants the Government to examine new evidence about how the fire started and examine its calls for a full public inquiry into the north Dublin blaze.
Forty-eight young people died when a fire engulfed the Stardust nightclub in Artane, on St Valentine's Day 1981, but the bodies of five have never been identified.
The Taoiseach's spokesman tonight said of the identification process: "Provided the consent of the next of kin of each victim is furnished, a technical examination will be carried out to determine the feasibility of this exercise.
"It was agreed that officials will stay in contact with the committee in order to pursue this further."
The Taoiseach told the committee that he had no vested interest in defending one view or another in relation to how the fire started.
A spokesman added: "He emphasised that he and the Tanaiste did not wish to finalise their thinking on this issue until they had heard in person from the families and that a formal response to the request would issue when their submissions, both written and verbal, had received detailed examination and consideration.
"Tonight's meeting will be followed up with a detailed written response to the committee."
Tonight's high-level Government delegation included Tanaiste Michael McDowell, senior officials from the Justice Department and Forensic Science Laboratory director Dr Sheila Willis.
Antoinette Keegan, who escaped the inferno but who lost her sisters Mary and Martina, plans to run against Government TDs in the General Election in the Dublin North Central.
The Butterly family, owners of the Stardust nightclub, hit the headlines earlier this year when the Silver Swan pub reopened at the same site, despite protesters gathering thousands of objections from all over the world.
Tonight's 60-minute meeting with the Government members was seen as a significant milestone for the families, who believe they have been ignored for a quarter of a century.