Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 June 2016
126. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of inquests which Ministers have ordered under section 23 of the Coroners Act 1962 since the introduction of that legislation; and the jurisdictions these inquests were held in. [15874/16]
View answer135. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of inquests that have been held into the deaths of persons whose bodies were not recovered, since the enactment of the Coroners Act 1962; and the time which elapsed between the person being reported missing and the inquest being held, by case. [16018/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 126 and 135 together.
The data which is immediately to hand dates back to 1999 and is tabulated as follows. It relates to the number of inquests directed by the Minister for Justice and Equality under the provisions of Section 23 of the Coroners Act, 1962. The data requested by the Deputy for the years 1962 to 1998 is not readily available. Nonetheless, my officials will seek to collate this information and provide to you in due course.
|
Year |
Total Number of Section 23 Directions |
Coronial District |
|
1999 |
6 |
Donegal North East Limerick West Cork South Cork West Wexford South Kerry West |
|
2000 |
3 |
Cork West |
|
2001 |
4 |
Mayo South Clare Donegal North East Cork South |
|
2002 |
5 |
Dublin County Galway West (2) Limerick West Cork West |
|
2003 |
2 |
Donegal North West Wicklow East |
|
2004 |
0 |
--- |
|
2005 |
2 |
Cork West Wicklow East |
|
2006 |
0 |
--- |
|
2007 |
8 |
Waterford West (3) Wexford South (3) Wicklow East Kerry South East |
|
2008 |
2 |
Clare Donegal South West |
|
2009 |
4 |
Dublin City (3) Kerry North |
|
2010 |
9 |
Clare (4) Cork West (3) Cork City Mayo North |
|
2011 |
4 |
Clare Wexford North Cork South Dublin |
|
2012 |
4 |
Clare Cork South Wicklow East Dublin |
|
2013 |
7 |
Dublin (4) Clare Cork South Mayo North |
|
2014 |
4 |
Clare Wexford (2) Cork South |
|
2015 |
2 |
Waterford East Kerry South East |
|
2016 (to 14 June 2016) |
2 |
Limerick Clare |
As the Deputy is aware, the legislation governing Coroners is the Coroners Act, 1962. Under this legislation a Coroner is a statutory officer exercising quasi-judicial functions, in relation to which he or she is independent. You will appreciate that neither I nor my Department has any role in the scheduling of individual inquests. The retention of Coroners' records is a matter for each individual Coroner and the County Registrar for the Coroner's local authority district under Section 29 of the Coroners Act 1962.
