Issues raised in a television documentary last night concerning the cause of the Stardust fire will be assessed by the relevant experts, the Taoiseach said today.
But, speaking in the Dáil, Mr Ahern declined to commit the Government to any new inquiry until it could be ascertained whether the issues aired on RTÉ's Prime Time programme constituted new evidence.
He told the House that he could not make a conclusion on whether issues relating to the design of the building and the location of where the fire started - raised in the programme - amounted to new evidence.
The Taoiseach said all he could do at this stage was ensure that the information was brought before experts who could make an assessment of it.
Mr Ahern said he expected to make contact with the Stardust Relatives Committee on Friday with a view to organising an official meeting.
He was responding to Labour leader Pat Rabbitte who questioned whether the Government was prepared to put in process a review which can quickly report to the relevant minister whether there is a "basis for further investigation".
Mr Rabbitte said this was surely the least the Government could do to meet the genuine concerns of the relatives.
Last night programme put forward what it claimed was new evidence concerning the source and cause of the fire.
The evidence related to the contents of a storeroom near the roof of the Stardust which contained flammable material, including floor wax, table polish, cloths and toilet rolls.
The full list of contents of the storeroom was not available to the original tribunal of investigation.
Three fire experts interviewed on the programme stated that the contents of this storeroom were the likely source of the fire.
