I propose to take Questions Nos. 10, 13 and 39 together.
The costs incurred to date of building the new State laboratory is €53.3 million. In addition, €9 million has been provided for equipment in the 2004 Estimate for the State laboratory, but none of this has been spent to date. I have also sanctioned up to six supernumerary posts for the laboratory to manage the procurement of equipment and the actual relocation. The estimated cost of these for the transitional period is approximately €165,000. The overall final cost of the facility at Backweston is estimated to be €87.5 million.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Government decided in 1983 that the payment of disturbance compensation in public sector employments should be discontinued for moves on or after 1 January 1984. This decision was taken following concern at disturbance payments being made to public servants who were being relocated to better premises and often moving short distances. Therefore, compensation payments for staff moving from Abbotstown to Backweston do not arise.
I am informed by the State Chemist that all laboratory staff are co-operating fully in the preparations for the relocation, which will take place in stages between May and July. The project team will have the new location and equipment ready for each of the nine sections of the laboratory which will then move in turn, keeping disruption of testing and other laboratory procedures to a minimum. Particular care will be taken in this regard in the case of the toxicology section which handles reports for the coroners.
I am conscious of the importance of the service provided to the coroners by the State Laboratory and the impact it inevitably has on relatives of people whose deaths are the subject of inquests at a time of great distress. I know the management of the laboratory share that sensitivity and constantly monitor the service by reviewing available resources, out-sourcing possibilities and the complexity of analyses.
Additional resources have been allocated to the toxicology section and there has been a substantial increase in the number of analyses completed. However, there is still a backlog of cases due to an increase of 50% in the past two years in the number of cases referred, and a general increase in the complexity of the analyses required.
A range of measures are being taken at present to reduce the turnaround time of samples sent to the laboratory and processed by its toxicology section. Additional priority is to be given to coroners' cases over other work of the section.
Laboratory management is also reviewing the procedures and processes in the toxicology area with a view to automating as much as possible.
The possibilities of reducing the complexity of testing were discussed between the State Laboratory and the coroners and their representatives, as doing so would have an immediate impact on turnaround times. However, it was not considered possible to reduce the complexity of tests performed by the laboratory in view of the constant demand from families for comprehensive analysis, the increasing complexity of the cocktail of drugs potentially taken by victims which requires sequential analyses to be carried out and the coroners' requirement for quality analytical data, which will withstand scrutiny in a court.
I am told by the management of the laboratory that the completion of the relocation to Backweston will enable the enhancement of the quality of service provided to all its clients, including the coroners' service.
