Select Committee Coroners Bill, 1925 díospóireacht -
Thursday, 29 Apr 1926

SECTION 1.

For the removing of doubts, it is hereby declared that it is the duty of a coroner to hold an inquest in respect of every case of a death occurring or of a dead body lying within his district and reported to him or otherwise coming to his knowledge, in respect of which there is any reasonable suspicion that the death may have been due to causes other than common illness.

Mr. BROWN

I beg to move as an amendment, to delete the section and to substitute therefor a new section, as follows:—

1.—Subject to the provisions of Section 9 of this Act it shall be the duty of a coroner in every case in which he is informed that the dead body of a person is lying within his district, and there is reasonable cause to suspect that such person has died either a violent or unnatural death or has died a sudden death of which the cause is unknown or that such person has died in prison or in such place or in such circumstances as to require an inquest under any Act other than the Coroners (Ireland) Act, 1846, to hold an inquest upon the body of such person in accordance with the provisions of the Coroners (Ireland) Act, 1846, or of this Act.

Question put and agreed to.

SECTION 2.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed in derogation from any obligation upon a coroner, arising by an express statutory provision or otherwise howsoever, to hold an inquest in respect of a death occurring in circumstances which do not create a duty of holding an inquest within the meaning of Section 1 of this Act.

Mr. BROWN

I beg to move as an amendment to delete the section and to substitute therefor a new section as follows:—

2.—(1) In any case (other than those provided for by Section 1 of this Act) in which the coroner is informed of the death within his district of a person who was not attended in his last illness and until his death by a duly qualified medical practitioner or that a medical certificate of the cause of death of any person is not procurable, he may inquire into the circumstances of the death of such person, and if he is unable to ascertain the cause of such death he may if he shall think fit hold a public inquiry for the purpose of ascertaining the cause of such death and shall communicate the result of such inquiry in writing under his hand to the registrar of deaths in like manner as he is required to communicate to the registrar the findings of the jury upon coroner's inquest under Section 16 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act (Ireland), 1880, and thereupon the registrar shall make an entry of the cause of such death accordingly and shall state in such entry that the information was received from the coroner and shall transmit the same to the superintendent registrar who shall send the same to the Registrar-General who shall preserve such information with the records of his office.

(2) It shall be the duty of the local Superintendent of the Gárda Síochána to inform the coroner of the death within his district of any person who was not attended in his last illness and until his death by a duly qualified medical practitioner or in whose case a medical certificate of the cause of death is not procurable, as aforesaid.

CHAIRMAN

It seems to me that the so-called public inquiry mentioned in the new section in lieu of an inquest is precisely the same as an inquest.

Mr. BROWN

Yes, if the evidence is taken on oath. But I think what was intended was not to have a real, formal inquest.

CHAIRMAN

Why should there not be a formal inquest? This is as laborious as an inquest.

Mr. BROWN

But it is voluntary on the coroner's part. It is " may." I think the object really was to get statistics and that it meant nothing else.

CHAIRMAN

The words are " if he is unable to ascertain the cause of such death he may if he shall think fit hold a public inquiry for the purpose of ascertaining the cause of such death." Is not that an inquest?

Mr. BROWN

No.

CHAIRMAN

Well, what is the use of the public inquiry?

Sir EDWARD BIGGER

After holding the public inquiry he can fall back on an inquest if he thinks it necessary.

CHAIRMAN

The supposition is that he is inquiring into the cause of death, and, if he is not satisfied as to the cause of death, he ought to hold an inquest. The section goes on to say that if he is unable to ascertain the cause of death at the public inquiry he is to hold an inquest. If he fails to discover the cause of death in the first instance, why not then proceed to hold an inquest in place of calling it a public inquiry?

Mr. BROWN

With a jury?

CHAIRMAN

Yes, and he can administer the oath to them.

Mr. BROWN

But he could not at a public inquiry.

CHAIRMAN

A public inquiry, unless held on oath, is quite useless. I suggest that this part of the section should read " and if he is unable to ascertain the cause of such death he may if he shall think fit hold an inquest for the purpose of ascertaining the cause of such death."

Mr. JACKSON

It leaves it optional in that case.

CHAIRMAN

If he thinks the circumstances call for a public inquiry it should be in the nature of an inquest.

Mr. BROWN

I move that sub-section (1) stand part of the section, the words " a public inquiry " being altered to " an inquest," as suggested by you, sir, and all the words after " the cause of such death," where that phrase secondly occurs, being consequentially deleted.

Agreed.

Sub-section (2) was agreed to.

New section, as amended, agreed to.