Twenty-five years after the Stardust tragedy the Dublin Fire Brigade service still has only 11 ambulances, Green Party leader Trevor Sargent claimed in the Dáil.
He said the lessons of the Stardust, in which 48 young people died and hundreds more were injured, had not been learnt and the situation in relation to fire safety "has gone from bad to worse.
"It is painful to realise that Ireland has the highest rate of fire accidents in the EU and one of the worst in the world. Ireland has 58 fire-related deaths on average per year," he said.
Calling on the Taoiseach to meet the families of the victims to discuss their concerns about questions that had not been answered 25 years later, he also called for a doubling of the number of fire brigade ambulances and fire prevention officers.
Bertie Ahern said the anniversary of the tragedy was a week away and "the thoughts of all are with the families of those killed or injured". He did not want to mix the two issues and read off a list of the significant investments in staff, fire and ambulance services. "It is a particularly difficult time for the families," he said.
But Mr Sargent said the Taoiseach was not mixing two issues. "The relatives certainly want to know whether lessons have been learnt." Since 1981 "we have dozens more pubs, more concert venues, bigger stadia and more hotels, but for this city and county on any typical night we have only one fire prevention officer on the north side of the Liffey and one on the south side".
He pointed out that "in 1985, 11 ambulances were available to Dublin Fire Brigade to answer 26,000 emergency calls. In 2005, 68,500 emergency calls were made, nearly a trebling of such calls since 1985, but the number of ambulances remains at 11."
He asked: "Does a cold shiver run up the Taoiseach's spine with the thought that another Stardust could happen? The way the figures look, that is very possible."
Mr Ahern said it was an entirely different situation now but that did not mean there were no problems.
"There are 3,400 fire services personnel in the country compared to quite small numbers in many areas then. Premises are being inspected. The new Building Control Bill 2005 deals with a significant number of issues." He reiterated that "the Government is very sensitive to the families" and would continue to be so.
