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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 30 Sep 2003

Vol. 571 No. 1

Written Answers. - Coroners Service.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

1117 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will report on the status of implementation of the recommendations of the report of the working group review of the coroner service; the recommendations which have been implemented; the recommendations which remain to be implemented; if recommendations have been rejected by his Department; and when the Coroners (Amendment) Bill will be published. [19773/03]

Ciarán Cuffe

Question:

1124 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will consider amending the legislation concerning the coroners' court to allow that the coroner have the power to ensure medical consultants attend inquests. [19820/03]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

1228 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will report on the status of the implementation of the recommendations of the report of the working group review of the coroner service; the recommendations which have been implemented; those which remain to be implemented; if any recommendations have been rejected by his Department; and when the Coroners (Amendment) Bill will be published. [21041/03]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1117, 1124 and 1228 together.

I wish to assure the Deputies that I remain fully committed to the goal of reforming and modernising the coronial system in Ireland. In that regard, the recommendations contained in the report of the review of the coroners service are an essential part of the process. One of the key recommendations of the report was the establishment of a coroners rules committee to bring forward detailed proposals with regard to operational procedures for coroners. The rules committee was established in November 2001 and has completed its work. I expect to be in a position to issue their report shortly.

In the context of fulfilling the Government's commitment to modernisation of our coronial system, I met with representatives of the Coroners Society of Ireland on 30 June last. Our discussions centred on key issues of concern which had been highlighted by the report of the review group or otherwise, for instance by decisions of the courts. We agreed that a certain number of issues needed to be addressed as a priority. These would include the issue of attendance of medical and other witnesses at inquest, increased sanctions for those who refuse to cooperate at an inquest and a more coherent restatement of the scope of the provisions for mandatory inquests, to include all deaths in custody situations. I gave the coroners a commitment to introduce a proposal to deal with these urgent measures.

In keeping that commitment, I expect to be in a position to bring a proposal to Government by the end of the year, if not shortly thereafter, for a short Bill to amend the Coroners Act of 1962. Once approved by Government, I will publish the proposed Bill. I wish to assure the Deputies, and all others concerned, that the proposed short amendment Bill in no way takes from my determination to bring forward a suitably more comprehensive reform of the coroners service, taking due account of the recommendations of the review group and developments since their report.
The Deputies will no doubt be aware that since the report of the review of structures in this jurisdiction was published, two reports have been published in the UK dealing with inquests, one a report of a general nature making recommendations for major changes to the system, the other dealing the activities of Dr. Shipman, which makes recommendations for change with a view the earlier detection of similar events. I am arranging for these reports to be reviewed, with a view to ensuring that in this jurisdiction we can learn from the tragic occurrences in the UK and make changes taking into account the UK experiences.
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