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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 22 Jun 2000

Vol. 521 No. 6

Written Answers. - State Laboratory.

Tony Gregory

Question:

86 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Finance the reason for the delays at the State Laboratory at Abbotstown, County Dublin referred to in correspondence from the Eastern Regional Health Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17803/00]

Unfortunately, there has been an increase in the number of suicides in recent years together with an increasing use of combinations of several drugs in these cases. This has resulted in an increased demand for more time consuming confirmatory analyses by the State Laboratory and a 300% increase in the workload over the past five years. I have recently sanctioned an increase in staffing resources for the State Laboratory because of its increased workload across a number of areas. This increase in resources will allow the current confirmatory analysis to a forensic standard to be provided in a timeframe more acceptable to the clients of the State Laboratory.

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