Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 December 2014
100. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the protocol for dealing with inquests which are within the remit of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. [47409/14]
View answerAs the Deputy may aware, the legislation governing coroner matters is the Coroners Act, 1962. Under this legislation, the coroner is an independent officer charged with the investigation of certain reportable deaths. The primary public expression of that investigation is the inquest which seeks factually to discover the circumstances of the person's death. I am satisfied that the inquest process, in conjunction where appropriate with other relevant investigative mechanisms, meets the State's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and in particular Article 2 of the Convention.
Section 60 (5) of the Coroners Act 1962, inserted by Section 24(b) of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013, provides for 8 categories of cases where a coroner may make a request to the Legal Aid Board for legal services to be provided for a family member of a deceased person. These relate to the circumstances where a person has died in the custody or care of the State or where the coroner is of the opinion that the continuation of the circumstances would be prejudicial to the health or safety of the public. Applications for legal representation at inquests are currently considered on a case by case basis and a formal scheme providing for the statutory provision of such representation will be in place in January, 2015.
