I appreciate the concerns that are involved in relation to the matters raised by the Deputy. As he will be aware, the background circumstances are linked to a very tragic set of events which occurred in 2009 and resulted in the death of two persons. I am very conscious of the fact that these deaths have impacted significantly on the families concerned.
The primary legislation currently applicable to coroners is the Coroners Act 1962. With regard to the holding of an inquest the position is that under the 1962 Act a coroner is a statutory officer exercising quasi-judicial functions, in relation to which he or she is independent. Accordingly, a coroner is responsible for the holding of an inquest and for conducting the inquest. In that regard it is not open to myself or to my Department to intervene in relation to a particular case. In so far as section 15 of the Act is concerned it should be noted that this section is primarily concerned with the removal of coroners from office and it does not confer general powers of inquiry on the Minister.
The Deputy will be aware that the Coroners Bill 2007 was restored to the Order Paper in 2011. The Bill provides for a comprehensive overhaul of the law relating to coroners and it makes provision for the recognition of the views of a victim’s family. In particular section 36 of the Bill provides that the coroner is required to inform the family of the deceased person, or such interested person as the coroner considers appropriate, of a range of matters relating to the investigation of the death. For example, the coroner would be required, in so far as is practicable, to keep such persons informed of the progress and conclusion of the investigation. The Deputy can be assured that the concerns he has raised will be fully taken into account in the review of the Coroners Bill which is being carried out within my Department.
