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Seanad Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 6 May 1925

Vol. 5 No. 2

PUBLIC BUSINESS. - CORONERS BILL, 1925—FIRST STAGE.

A Bill entitled an Act to provide for more clearly defining the circumstances under which the duty of holding an inquest on the body of a dead person shall arise.

My name appears, by error, on the Order Paper as the introducer of this Bill. What happened was, that I signed my name as one of the supporters of the Bill. As my signature appeared first on the title to the copy of the Bill handed in to the Clerk's Office, I would seem to have been taken as being the introducer. As a matter of fact, the name of Senator de Loughrey should appear as the introducer of the Bill.

I beg to move for leave to introduce this Bill. The object of the Bill is to ensure that inquests will be held in every case where death is believed to have occurred from any but natural causes, and where it is believed that the circumstances surrounding a death are such that they ought to be inquired into. I would like to say, at the outset, that in introducing this measure there is no intention whatever to cast any reflection on the coroners in the Saorstát. I am aware, however, that in many districts inquests have not been held when, in the public good, they should have been held. The Bill proposes that inquests shall be held in every case where death is believed to have been due to sudden or unprovided causes. It may be necessary, on the next stage, to put in words defining certain diseases from which death occurs, that may properly not come under the coroner's jurisdiction. This matter was pretty fully debated a short time ago when the Local Government Bill was going through this House. At that time I proposed an amendment somewhat on the lines on which this Bill is framed. The amendment was passed in this House, but was rejected by the Dáil. When the amendment came back to this House it was suggested that the proper way to achieve the object aimed at in the amendment was by means of introducing a Bill of this character. Acting on that suggestion from the Seanad, I now beg to move for leave to introduce this Bill.

I beg to second.

Question put and agreed to.
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