Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 26 Feb 2025

Vol. 1063 No. 5

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Animal Welfare

Deputy Maurice Quinlivan

In a Dáil debate on 13 December 1977, the late Mick Lipper, a Deputy from Limerick, raised the issue of wandering horses in Limerick and asked what actions the then Minister for Justice would take regarding serious problems created by them. Here we are, 47 years later, talking about the same problems.

At least 1,431 wandering or stray horses have been collected in Limerick city since 2015. Unfortunately, most seized before 2019 ended up being euthanised. Horses collected since then have been rehomed by horse welfare charities, putting huge pressure on them. This matter is a waste of Garda and council resources, as well as time and money. From a response I received from the Department of agriculture to a previous parliamentary question, I am aware the Department has contributed millions to local authorities in respect of activities regarding the control of horses.

The keeping of ponies and horses has long been a tradition in many parts of my home city, Limerick. It is a tradition that has been passed down through generations of families, and in a number of cases the animals are well maintained and cared for. However, we can no longer ignore the fact that there are many who misuse and abuse the animals. They have a lack of compassion and do not understand, know or care about how to treat these beautiful creatures. Many have no tradition whatsoever of keeping horses, and in recent years it has been quite noticeable that a number of young people with very little or no experience of horses simply cannot work with or look after them properly at all.

Recently, I met experienced horse owners in Limerick and heard they are embarrassed about and utterly fed up with the state of so many horses and the poor way in which so many of them are cared for. In recent weeks, we have seen carcasses of dead horses in areas across the city. Some horses are often left in a distressed or abandoned state. I was recently made aware of children who could not go to school as there was a horse in their front garden. Can you imagine your child not being able to go to school because of such a blockade outside your home?

The failure to address this issue over the years must end. It is simply unfair on the animals, local communities who witness the abuse and neglect regularly, and animal welfare organisations and their volunteers. It is unfair to see the destruction of green areas, public spaces and community facilities. It is also unfair, pretty disgusting and not acceptable in 2025 to see horse manure on city streets, roads, footpaths and green areas. It is like something you would have seen in Victorian times.

This year, nearly 50 years after Mr. Lipper's remarks, must be the one in which the issue is finally tackled, properly challenged and addressed. It is shameful that the situation has been allowed to continue for decades. I have never seen it so bad. Last Friday, in the space of 90 minutes in three local areas in Limerick, I saw more than 50 horses on public land and in the gardens of vacant council-owned properties. We are now approaching foaling season and this will only get worse. In some cases the authorities have been met with threats of violence when attempting to seize abused animals. This is not fair or proportionate, but it is what happens when the law is not applied year after year and the result of the Department not doing its job properly.

The problem in now a major one in some of our towns and cities. Interestingly, the problem is largely associated with working-class areas of Limerick, Cork and Dublin. If the horses were wandering around Montenotte in Cork, Foxrock in Dublin or the North Circular Road in my city, Limerick, I suspect there would have been a different response. The law should apply equally, regardless of the value of the homes in an area. I would like to see more Garda enforcement to address illegal sulky racing on our streets. Animal welfare remains a big issue across urban and rural areas. As I have said, 1,431 horses have been seized in Limerick since 2015, and unfortunately many of those have been euthanised. There has been much documentation on disgraceful abuse of and cruelty to horses, both within Limerick and farther afield. We need better enforcement of animal welfare laws and more support for animal welfare groups.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Michael Healy-Rae)

I sincerely thank Deputy Quinlivan for raising this most important matter on the floor of the Dáil. Given that it is most important, the people of Limerick will rightly be grateful to him. I know about the matter at first hand because I have family members living in the city and am there a lot. What is going on is a disgrace. The Deputy is so correct to have done what he has done here today. While he has highlighted that what I would call blackguarding of the worst type is going on, he has also recognised that there are responsible horse owners. There are people who adore their horses and who want to mind and cherish them. The horses are like family members. The Deputy made a very clear distinction in that there are people who do not know the first thing about horses or animal welfare. What is going on is disgraceful.

I apologise on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Martin Heydon, who could not be here but who is also very anxious about this issue because of the simple fact that addressing it is so important.

Neglecting or causing unnecessary suffering to an animal is totally unacceptable in our society. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is fully committed to the ongoing promotion and enforcement of high animal welfare standards. The Department continues to enforce the law in this important area and works very closely with An Garda Síochána, the customs service, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, introduced by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, brought all farmed and companion animals, including leisure, sport and working animals, under a single legislative framework. The Act provides a modern framework for applying standards in the area of animal health and welfare. Since the Act of 2013 came into operation, in March 2014, 181 individuals have been successfully prosecuted, but that is not half enough.

There have to be more prosecutions. This horrible practice has to be stopped. The programme for Government is very strong on this. It provides a commitment to prioritise equine welfare and build on existing inspectors' reports throughout the country, ensuring a consistent approach to dealing with horse welfare.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine takes the matter of animal welfare most seriously and responds to any reports of alleged animal cruelty or legislative non-compliance. Under the Control of Horses Act 1996, local authorities may take a range of actions on equines, including the prohibition of horses in certain areas, the issuing of licences and the seizure of horses that are in contravention of the Act. These powers can be used in respect of straying horses, which includes horses put on land without the owner's permission, including public land. Local authorities may also prosecute offenders. The Department of agriculture provides funding to local authorities as a contribution towards the costs incurred by them in operating the Control of Horses Act 1996.

The number of unwanted horses being seized by local authorities reached a peak in 2014 and has declined significantly since then. All legislation in the Department of agriculture is kept under constant review, including the Control of Horses Act 1996, which is currently under review. Plans for replacement legislation are advancing. The aim of this replacement legislation is to simplify and clarify procedures in the Act in respect of the seizure and disposal of horses. The Department of agriculture undertook a stakeholders' consultation in 2023 on the control of horses legislation, with submissions sought by November 2023. Four submissions were received, which will feed into the legislative process.

Deputy Maurice Quinlivan

I thank the Minister of State for his response and understanding of the issue. He did not get to it in his speech, but I am glad he mentioned the ongoing project in Moyross, which does good work in that area. However, it is only a drop in the ocean in dealing with the issue.

Wandering, unkept and uncared-for horses have been a plague on working-class areas of Limerick for decades, as I said. I mentioned the late former Deputy Mick Lipper, who raised this issue as far back as 1977. Regretfully, despite additional legislation, not much has changed in Limerick, especially in the city area. In fact, it has got much worse. If you travel through many estates in Limerick, you will almost certainly encounter horses, ponies or Shetland ponies. While this has often been the case, there seems to be an increase in the number of such animals, especially in recent months. We need to deal with this issue once and for all.

I recognise that some of the horses are well cared for and securely tied but, unfortunately, many others are allowed to roam and graze freely. In each of these scenarios, it is public land that is being misused, depriving local residents of their facilities. It is local green areas that are being trampled on. Often, it is local sports fields being turned to muck and local footpaths and roads that are covered in horse shite. Since Christmas, a number of horses have been abandoned and left to die and rot in city estates. This has a terrible impact. It is a heartbreaking sight for anyone, especially children, to see outside their own front door where they live.

We must ask why horse owners abandon these animals rather than have them assessed by a vet. There are two answers. It is cheaper to purchase a new horse; a new one can be got in Limerick for €20 or €30 to replace the animal. The other reason is the failure to enforce chipping legislation. My understanding is nobody has been prosecuted for not having a chipped horse. In response to a parliamentary question I previously received from the Department, I was advised that no prosecutions have taken place for failing to have a horse chipped in the State. Why does that happen? Why do we have legislation if we do not enforce it? Why do we allow so many in our communities to operate with impunity and to destroy our public lands and roadways? Why do we allow these unregistered animals on our roads?

I welcome the fact the Control of Horses Act is under review. I hope it will lead to a more robust response to the issue of mistreated and malnourished horses destroying public land and urban estates.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

From 2015 to date, the Department has spent more than €2 million on urban horse projects. Last year, €6 million in funding went to 101 animal welfare charities throughout the country under the animal welfare grant programme. Of that figure, just over €3.4 million was awarded to charities involved in the care and welfare of horses.

On a personal level, I will say that the Deputy has done a great service to the people of Limerick in raising this. It is not just today that he has done so. He has been in continuous contact with the Department about this matter on behalf of his constituents. He is a very strong person on this. I recognise that, as does the Minister, Deputy Heydon. We should do everything we can collectively to put our shoulders to the wheel to try to stop this horrible practice. When I was a young person starting out, every day my day's work involved working with a horse by the name of Billy, so the Deputy will appreciate how I feel about this very important matter. I see some of the absolute horrific cruelty that horses have to endure. The Deputy is correct in what he said. It is upsetting for everybody, especially young people, to see animals being mistreated in this way. It is horrible beyond belief. The Minister and the Department will do everything they can.

As can be seen from the statistics, enough funding is going through. The charitable organisations are doing their work, but at the end of the day it is very hard to legislate for other people's behaviour. This whole acceptance by certain people that they can do whatever they like because it is only an animal is what we have to get away from. A horse is to be treated in the kindest possible way. Horses are beautiful animals and to see this happening on our streets and in our urban areas, or any area, is totally wrong. The Deputy is doing a great service for the people by raising this most important matter. I thank him for doing so in a sound, solid way.

Forestry Sector

Deputy Joe Cooney

The recent storm highlighted the risk to our electrical and utility infrastructure, most obviously within our rural communities, often to our most vulnerable. We have heard calls for electric and fibre broadband cables to be buried underground. There may be merit in undertaking that as a long-term objective in some cases. However, I argue that there is a much simpler and more cost-effective solution. What I propose would have a significant impact on the resilience of a large portion of our power and communications infrastructure across rural Ireland. In the storm's aftermath, while supporting the people most impacted, I came across windblown trees that had taken down multiple lengths of lines and poles. ESB workers have all told me the same thing. I compliment them on the great job they carried out in restoring power as quickly as possible in very difficult conditions. In more than 80% of the power line issues, believe it or not, the cause was trees. One person in the west Clare area told me that of 40 reported line breaks that were responded to, 35 were tree-related in forestry where the setback distances were either totally inadequate or not managed.

Currently, the forestry standards manual provides for a setback corridor that is 20 m wide for 10 kV and 38 kV lines. This means a pathway that is 10 m wide either side of the power lines through forestry where trees are growing to a height of 15 m and 20 m, and more in some cases. Within these setback corridors, trees are not permitted to exceed a height of 3 m. In many cases, even from a casual drive-by, it can be seen these standards are obviously not being managed by some landowners. Even the responsible ones agree the setback distances are inadequate. The figures clearly do not add up. The results are there to be seen in the vast number of premises left without power after the recent storm.

Will the Minister address these issues by reviewing the setback distances to recognise the discrepancy between the height of the trees and the space between them and the power lines; creating a fast-track process to grant landowners a felling licence to clear corridors in a timely manner to prevent history from repeating itself; resourcing the forestry service properly so it can undertake more inspections, stronger enforcement actions and preventative measures such as issuing felling licences more promptly; and, finally, including legislation that enables the ESB or telecom companies to clear set-back corridors in cases where no action is being taken by the landowners and to attach the costs of doing so against the value of the forestry?

This is my first occasion to address the Chamber and outline what communities across rural Ireland have experienced. I am delighted I can use this opportunity to highlight the damage that has been caused and how it continues to impact on them.

We have heard much talk of learning lessons from the recent storm. This is one such lesson, and one I feel we must learn from if we are to effectively prevent such long-term outages in the future. Prevention is always better and much more cost-effective than the cure.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

It is not only today that Deputy Cooney has brought this matter to the attention of the Dáil because he has been working diligently on the issue. The Deputy has worn a path to Agriculture House and has been on to me and my officials. I recognise that and his sterling work on behalf of his constituents.

This is an important matter. It is also of grave concern to our colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, who has also been making representations about this matter. As Deputy Cooney correctly stated, the existing legislation and corridors have failed, which is simply not good enough.

Last week, the Ministers, Deputies Heydon and Darragh O'Brien, and I met senior people from the ESB to discuss the corridors that are in place and what needs to be created in the future to ensure that situations such as we had will not occur again. It will involve, we imagine, changing legislation. Everybody believes the ESB has far-reaching legislative powers to go into land and do what is required to protect the power lines but it does not. New legislation potentially needs to be brought in. It would, of course, go through the Houses of the Oireachtas swiftly as everybody would support it because it would be for the betterment of the people of the country.

The incoming Government showed great foresight in the programme for Government, before we ever had this storm, in recognising that the protection of power lines and telecommunication lines was of massive importance. The Government's commitment to protecting those lines is in the programme for Government. We have seen the devastation caused in the Deputy's constituency and throughout the country, with people left in awful situations and people with sick children and elderly people left without heat and without light in their homes. It was an awful situation.

Deputy Cooney is correct to raise this issue. All I can tell him is that we are working on it. We will continue to work with all the stakeholders to address the issues we now face, including those in relation to forestry and power lines. At the centre of these considerations are the wider good and the need to take into account the needs of those landowners who have committed to forestry and will do so in the future.

I want to make it clear that people who already have a clear-fell or thinning licence along with a road licence can commence their clean-up operations straightaway. Across the country, these clean-up operations are already under way and the sector is doing all it can to meet the massive task we face.

When we were meeting the ESB last Wednesday evening, up to 50 harvesters were out working and contracted by the ESB to engage in that work. They are working along the existing corridors. What we have to do, and it is in the programme for Government, is to enhance those corridors, which will obviously lead to a situation where forest owners or landowners may have to be compensated for the encroachment on their land. As I stated, however, this will be for the greater good and to try to safeguard the security of energy to people's homes. At the end of the day, that is of paramount importance.

It was also highlighted to the ESB that the practice of trimming branches near power lines along the roadside is not good enough because they will grow again. We have to be more aggressive in our approach in ensuring that we protect the power lines.

Deputy Joe Cooney

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, for his response. I welcome the meeting held with the ESB and I hope action will be taken sooner rather than later.

There is also a serious issue as regards Internet connections and phone lines. I hope further consultation will take place with National Broadband Ireland and Eir because I am aware of businesses and residents in certain parts of my county and the west where phone lines and Internet services are still out. That is not good enough in this day and age. We are all well aware of the importance of Internet and phone lines, especially for elderly people. I am aware of one elderly woman of 92 years of age who has a mobile phone but, unfortunately, no network cover and her landline is not working. Luckily enough, the neighbours are calling to help her out, but she is now almost five weeks without those services. As I said, these services are vital, not alone to elderly people but to everybody. I hope the Ministers also had consultations with NBI and Eir to see what can be done to fast-track the restoration of the Internet and phone lines in the areas still affected and, more so, for businesses and residents, especially elderly people.

As far as I am concerned, now is the time for less talk and more action. Consumers do not want to have to experience the same difficulties they have experienced over the past five weeks. After the recent storm, the lessons have been learned. It is now time to deliver.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

I thank Deputy Cooney. I like it when the Deputy says it is time for less talk and more work. To show the Deputy what work is going on, this is a matter that I am dealing with at the forest windblow task force, which met again yesterday morning. Subsequent to the meeting I and the Ministers, Deputies Heydon and O'Brien, had with the ESB last week, officials from the Department are exploring what we need to do to get on to the next phase, that is, the necessary legislation that might be required to allow this work go on.

The Deputy will appreciate that while work will have to be done, you cannot go on to a person's land where there is, for example, a corridor created already and a wayleave may have been agreed with the forest owner 20 years ago. The landowner might have been compensated for that at a certain width. If we are to come along now to that landowner and say that it must be a greater width, we must have legislative powers. Second, we cannot go to a person with our hands hanging. We have to be able to say we want to create a bigger wayleave. The Deputy, on behalf of his constituents, will say the landowner will have to be compensated. We cannot go into a person's land willy-nilly and say we will do this because landowners have to be respected.

The Deputy is right to raise the fact that it is the duty of the Government to protect power lines and the energy going into people's homes. In the programme for Government, people were thinking ahead. That never happened previously.

It is a recognition of the fact that our storms are becoming stronger and having an effect on the energy that goes into people’s homes. At the same time, the Government has been telling people to rely more on the ESB. The more they rely on the ESB, however, the more they need it. We have a duty in this regard. Deputy Cooney is doing great work. It is not his first time raising this matter since the storm. He has been over and back to Agriculture House regularly to discuss it. I want the people of Clare to know that.

Disability Services

Deputy Rory Hearne

This issue relates to access to services for children with disabilities. The Government is utterly failing a generation of children with disabilities and their families. We can see this clearly in Dublin North-West, the area I represent. The children’s disability network teams, CDNTs, are under-resourced and there are unacceptable delays in assessments, with multiyear waiting lists for therapies. The teams fail to provide the vital and urgent care children and their families need. The failure to provide assessments of need is impacting on children’s ability to access other services, especially their access to education and preschool, primary school and secondary school places. This Friday, we will see parents, who are stressed up to their eyeballs, courageously holding a 24-hour sleep-out at the Department of Education because of the failure to provide special education school places.

Figures provided by the HSE show that 14,221 applications for assessments of need nationally were overdue for completion by the end of last year. Almost one in four of those overdue assessments are in the area of community health organisation, CHO, 9, which includes my constituency. In this area, which comprises north Dublin, including areas like Ballymun, Finglas, Santry and Glasnevin, there were 3,193 overdue applications. Some 2,791 of the children to whom those cases relate had been waiting more than three months. Under the Disability Act, an assessment of need must be completed within six months.

When it comes to CDNTs, the situation is just as bleak. The most recent data for the CHO 9 area showed 2,596 children waiting for an initial contact with a CDNT at the end of last year and almost 90% of those children had been waiting for more than one year. This is again the same area of north Dublin with the highest number of children waiting for more than 12 months for initial contact with a CDNT. This is unacceptable.

I wish to highlight two cases that have been raised with me. The first concerns Jack who is six and who needs an autism class. He has been tossed around between primary care and a CDNT and has still not received an assessment of need, a diagnosis or therapy. He is six years old and has still not received a school place confirmed for the 2025-26 school year. This is the second year running that he has not received a place. I spoke to his mother, Susan, who explained the level of stress and anxiety that she and her family experience because of the lack of services and clarity around a school place. This situation is not acceptable.

Noah, another child, is three years old. He is non-verbal and severely autistic. After initially having his referrals to the CDNT rejected, he was finally referred two years later only after an emotional appeal from his mother. In October 2024, Noah’s family had to secure legal representation to compel the HSE to complete his assessment of need. They are still waiting for that assessment. They were contacted by the HSE asking them to consent to an incomplete assessment of need, one without his report from the National Council for Special Education and with no forecast date for completion, which would render it effectively useless in securing a school placement. I wish to ask the Minister for children, disability and equality, Deputy Foley, what will she do to ensure that children like Jack and Noah and the thousands of other children in north Dublin have access to the therapies, support services and school places they need.

Minister of State at the Department of Justice (Deputy Niall Collins)

I thank Deputy Hearne for raising this important issue. The Government and the HSE are fully committed to enhancing services to better support children with disabilities in Ireland. The Progressing Disability Services Roadmap 2023-2026 focuses on the ongoing development of CDNTs to meet current and growing demand. A child does not require a diagnosis to access services. CDNTs provide a multidisciplinary assessment of individual needs and strengths as well as therapy supports.

The demand for assessments of need has increased significantly in recent years, a reflection of both the increase of population and of families exploring all options for accessing services for their children. The HSE advises that 10,690 applications for assessments of need were received in 2024, with approximately 4,160 completed, which is a 30% increase on the 3,205 applications completed in 2023. Demand for assessments of need has more than doubled compared with the 4,700 applications received in 2020.

In CHO 9, 1,690 assessment of need applications were received in 2024, which marks a 14% increase from 2022 when 1,467 assessment of need applications were received. As of December 2024, 3,193 assessments of need applications in CHO 9 were overdue for completion. The HSE has also advised that in CHO 9, 2,086 children were offered an initial contact, individual or group intervention with a CDNT in December 2024, while 2,596 were waiting for an initial contact at the end of the month.

While recruitment and retention of staff are a challenge across the sector overall, a significant focus of the Government is filling vacant posts within the 93 CDNTs which are providing supports for more than 42,000 children. The Government has provided funding for additional posts to enhance the capacity of CDNTs in recent years. The HSE has advised that there was a net addition of 272 staff in CDNTs in 2024, a 17% increase compared with 2023. Ongoing recruitment and retention measures include: the HSE facilitating direct access for funded agencies to existing HSE health and social care professionals panels, which will shorten the recruitment process and provide direct access to competent and eligible candidates; the Department of children and equality working with the HSE to seek to introduce specific recruitment and retention incentives for therapists who work in CDNTs and a CDNT sponsorship programme with bursaries for fourth year and postgraduate students linked to acceptance of conditional job offers; placements on CDNTs continuing to be expanded alongside a continued expansion in the number of places in higher education; and the roll-out of regional assessment hubs, including in CHO 9, which will see the provision of personnel dedicated to the delivery of assessments of need, while preserving the time for other clinical staff for purposes of therapy interventions.

In May 2024, the Government announced a decision to finance the assessment of need waiting list initiative through the procurement of private assessments for long-waiting families. Between June and December 2024, some 2,479 assessments of need were commissioned from private providers at a total cost of approximately €8.2 million. The Government has provided funding for additional posts to enhance the capacity of CDNTs and shorten waiting times in recent years, with a further investment in budget 2025 to fund additional therapy posts and clinical trainee places.

Deputy Rory Hearne

The response, while welcome, is inadequate. If we look at the situation facing these families, particularly the children, they cannot wait. They cannot be left waiting for months and years for access to basic services and assessments of need. Early intervention is absolutely key in this regard. These families are struggling. I have spoken to them and they have contacted me. I have met them during the election on the doors. The level of stress and anxiety that parents of children with additional needs, disabilities, autism or ADHD experience is unacceptable.

Bringing it back to the children again, every day, week and month of delay in the context of intervention has long-term impacts on those children, reducing their potential and quality of life. We should not accept it. The Minister of State set out the ambition to, for example, introduce specific recruitment and retention initiatives and while they are badly needed, we need to see urgent action on them.

We need staff numbers in CDNTs to be increased and therapies provided. Parents explain that just getting a contact and being told they can be part of a webinar or group workshop is not a service in terms of a therapy their children need. We cannot simply say that this is enough or that it is acceptable. The children and their families need it, so I am calling on the Government to put a greater focus on this and not accept these waiting lists as being tolerable.

Minister of State at the Department of Justice (Deputy Niall Collins)

The overall HSE disability budget for 2025 has increased to €3.2 billion. That equates to an 11.6% increase over the previous year. This matter remains an extremely high priority for the Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, for the Government and for senior leadership within the HSE. The HSE is supporting families of children while they are on waiting lists. These initiatives include access to webinars, workshops and advice clinics among other measures. This will ensure families continue to receive engagement from teams as they await further supports.

It is important to reiterate that a child does not require a statutory assessment of need to access disability services. It is also important to acknowledge that the CDNTs are providing services and supports to more than 42,000 children via 92 dedicated teams across the country. These teams are providing strategies and supports for urgent cases on the waiting lists where staffing resources allow. This Government provided funding for additional posts to enhance the capacity of CDNTs and shorten waiting times in recent years. In 2025, €25 million has been made available for children's services building on existing recruitment initiatives with funding focused on various positions across the CDNTs, including 20 senior therapist posts, 20 staff grade posts, 20 health and social care assistant posts and 15 clinical trainee posts. Detailed engagement continues between the Minister of State's officials and the HSE to seek practical and implementable solutions to address the issues of waiting lists for both assessments of need and interventions. I assure the Deputy that the matter is receiving the most urgent attention.

Coroner Service

Deputy Shane Moynihan

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach as ucht an deis seo labhairt ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo a bhaineann leis an moill atá ar oifig na cróinéara coirp daoine marbha a scaoileadh chuig a gcuid clann. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on what is becoming an increasingly important issue raised by constituents. I wish the Minister of State the very best in his new role on our first official engagement across the floor of the Dáil and I thank him for being here today.

All of us who have lost someone in our lives know that the period between that person dying and the chance to say goodbye to him or her at a funeral is among the most important times for families and communities to show their solidarity with those who have lost someone dear to them. Ireland has a very honourable and noble tradition of marking the end of life through a funeral at which people demonstrate their solidarity and love for a family that has lost someone.

Over the past year or so, there have been increasing reports of delays in the release of remains to families to allow them to commence the grieving process and obtain closure. In a country like Ireland, where the general expectation is that burials should be able to take place in or around seven or eight days after death, one often finds the very tragic situation where people flying home in the expectation of a funeral cannot attend it. One such case was raised with me by a constituent only two weeks ago.

Today, I would like to discuss delays relating to the Coroner Service and the release of remains to loved ones' families. What action is being taken to address that and deal with the backlog flagged last year by the Coroners Society of Ireland, not only in terms of access to histopathologists but also to the administrative staff required to process that backlog? I am aware that there was a public consultation last year. I read the report relating to that consultation yesterday. There are some very worthwhile recommendations in it in terms of looking at the overall structure of the service and providing national guidelines. Fundamentally, however, this is about understanding the resources that are available to the Coroner Service and the associated support structures that underpin it. What steps are being taken to continue to address the delays that seem to be apparent within the Coroner Service? Are steps being taken to deal with staffing issues? Is consideration being given to the extent of activities in which coroners engage, for example, the inquests they lead, to see if there is any need to revise the procedures and protocols around which a coroner is involved in a certain death?

What I am saying comes from a place of trying to give those people who have lost someone dear to them an understanding of a very clear timeline of when they can properly say goodbye to their loved one in order that if there is an expectation that the traditional timeframe of seven days cannot be met, this would be made clear to people, thereby allowing them to plan accordingly and begin to grieve. As we all know, whenever we lose anyone dear to us, we want to commence grieving. In addition, we all value the solidarity of a funeral and our community coming out to support us. Will the Minister of State outline the steps that are being taken to deal with delays relating to the Coroner Service. In the broader context of the consultation that took place last year, will he indicate the overall reforms that will be made introduced in respect of the service?

Deputy Niall Collins

On behalf of the Minister, I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter and giving me the opportunity to provide clarity on a number of issues. The Coroner Service comprises a network of coroners in districts throughout the country and a coroner is an independent office holder. The Department of Justice has direct responsibility for providing financial and administrative support to the Dublin District Coroner's Office since January 2018. Outside Dublin, the relevant local authorities fund the costs of all other coronial districts.

The Minister recognises the significance and sensitivity of the coronial investigation process for loved ones of the bereaved. Neither the Minister nor the Department can interfere with a coroner in the exercise of his or her statutory death investigation function. A decision to direct a post-mortem examination or to hold an inquest must rest entirely with the individual coroner.

The Minister is aware of the increasing challenges in securing histopathologists for a number of reasons to carry out coroner-directed post mortem examinations. The Department established a standing committee on coroner-directed post mortem examinations in 2022, which is tasked with considering the core issues involved in the provision of a sustainable pathology service to coroners.

Following a consultation process on the reform of the Coroner Service, the Department has received approval from Government to draft the general scheme of a Bill to significantly reform the Coroner Service in order to increase efficiencies and minimise the impact of the death investigation process on bereaved people. The heads of Bill, which will be brought to Government this year, aim to address all aspects of the Coroner Service, including establishment of an independent office of the chief coroner, who will be responsible for setting standards, providing guidance and overseeing the activities of full-time salaried coroners, a model in line with best practice internationally.

In recognition of the time required to prepare and progress a replacement to the Coroners Act 1962, as amended, through the Houses, the Coroners (Amendment) Act 2024 was signed into law in February last year. This Act made provision for the assignment and appointment of temporary coroners where workload demands warrant such assignment. This ensures that there will be adequate coronial provision in all districts pending the reform of the service. As mentioned, the Department of Justice has direct responsibility for the Dublin coroner's district and the Minister has utilised powers conferred on him in the Act to ensure that an appropriate number of coroners are in place to address waiting times for bereaved families.

Deputy Shane Moynihan

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response. It is very welcome to hear the reforms that are being undertaken to address the backlog.

I have a few follow-up questions. Will the Minister of State provide a timeline for the implementation of the Bill that will be brought to Government later this year? When is the expected commencement date for the Bill? I am happy to see the decision to establish the office of the chief coroner. It will be crucial in setting standards and expectations. I assume part of the remit of that office will involve responsibility for ensuring there is a guideline period within which an investigation can be held and a time within which bereaved families can expect the release of their loved ones.

With regard to the responsibility of the Minister of State's Department for the Dublin coroner's district, could he provide some information on the number of temporary coroners who have been appointed in the district to help address the workload? That would go some distance towards addressing some of the public concerns I have received from constituents over the past few weeks. It would be helpful to know that steps are being taken to deal with that backlog.

I ask the Minister of State to give an indication as to whether new or updated guidelines will be in place during this interregnum while the backlog is being cleared, given that families have an expectation of when remains will be released. I again thank the Minister him for his response and for engaging with this matter.

Deputy Niall Collins

I again thank the Deputy for raising this matter The Department of Justice is committed to driving the modernisation of the coroner service in Ireland. There are many positive aspects to the current service. Foremost is the compassion of coroners and their staff when engaging with bereaved family members.

A number of areas would benefit from being modernised. For this reform process to be effective, it needs to take into account the views of coroners and people who interact with the coroner service. The Department of Justice is working on the modernisation project in respect of the Dublin district coroner's office, for which it has operational responsibility. It is intended that the lessons learned in the Dublin district will be used in the development of a national model once the supporting legislation has been enacted.

A new coroners Act will also review the criteria that dictate whether a death investigation is required, with a view to conducting a low number of death investigations, where possible, to minimise the impact on bereaved families. Ireland undertakes more coronial death investigations than comparable jurisdictions and it is a process that can be highly distressing, as the Deputy said, for families of the bereaved. The needs of those bereaved families will be at the centre of the Department's reforms.

A restructured and modernised coroner service will drive consistency and assist coroners in the delivery of this important service. We will revert to the Deputy on the timing of the Bill, which I mentioned in my first contribution. We will also revert with the details of the additional support provided to the Dublin coroner service.