Dublin City Council has agreed to allow the construction of 178 apartments and houses and a hotel in Artane.

The development will be on the site of the Stardust nightclub disaster and has been appealed to An Bord Pleanála.

Next month marks the 30th anniversary of the Stardust fire, in which 48 people died and now relatives of the victims continue to seek a criminal investigation of the fire and a State apology after the original verdict of arson as its cause was found to be without evidence.

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The relatives, local residents, city councillors and TDs, including Fine Gael’s Terence Flanagan and Fianna Fáil's Michael Woods and Seán Haughey, had objected to the council against the plans by Patrick Butterly Sons Limited, owners of the site.

However, the development was approved by the council last month.

An appeal with An Bord Pleanála against the council's decision has been made as it would prevent any possibility of the site being protected as a memorial to the victims.

That's even though the application itself makes provision for a memorial garden in the development, the Irish Times has reported.

(BMcC/GK)