I am informed that the toxicology test report for the case in question was forwarded to the Dublin county coroner on 23 February 2004. I am conscious of the importance of the service provided to the coroners by the State Laboratory and the impact it inevitably has on relatives of people whose deaths are the subject of inquests at a time of great distress. The management of the laboratory share that sensitivity and constantly monitor the service by reviewing available resources, the possibilities for outsourcing and the complexity of analyses.
I understand that additional resources have been allocated to the toxicology section and there has been a substantial increase in the number of analyses completed. However, there is still a backlog of cases, due to an increase of 50% in the past two years in the number of cases referred, and a general increase in the complexity of the analyses required.
A range of measures are being taken at present to reduce the turnaround time of samples sent to the laboratory and processed by its toxicology section. Additional priority is to be given to the coroners's cases over other work of the section. Laboratory management are also reviewing the procedures and processes in the toxicology area with a view to automating as much as possible.
The possibilities of reducing the complexity of testing were discussed between the State Laboratory and the coroners and their representatives, as doing so would have an immediate impact on turnaround times. However, it was not considered possible to reduce the complexity of tests performed by the laboratory in view of the constant demand from families for comprehensive analysis, the increasing complexity of the cocktail of drugs potentially taken by victims which requires sequential analyses to be carried out and coroner's requirement for quality analytical data, which will withstand scrutiny in a court.
