Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 September 2014
10. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide details on the amount the Coroners Court in County Tipperary has received over the past three years in terms of funding for staff and facilities; the training such staff have received in order to sensitively engage with families in view of the nature of their work; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35384/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI should explain that coroners are appointed and paid by local authorities. Coroners are drawn from both the legal and medical professions and are of course very aware of the importance of dealing with bereaved families in a sensitive, humane and caring manner.
My understanding is that the remuneration for a coroner is made up of a basic retainer, which varies according to the case load and is intended to cover, for example, on-call duty and office expenses. A fee per case is also paid in relation to work carried out on the following basis:
Death reported €129.68
Death certified following post mortem €188.54
Death certified following post mortem and inquest €522.97
The number of cases in each category for the coroners in Tipperary for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 are available on the coroner service website and I am setting these out along with details of the associated payments in the table below.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Coroners Bill 2007, which has been restored to the Order Paper, provides for a comprehensive reform of the law, practice and structures in regard to the coroner service. The Bill is in the course of being reviewed in my Department and in that context all governance and administrative matters in relation to coroners will be examined to determine how reform can be achieved in a cost effective manner.
Table 1
Tipperary North
|
Year |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
|
Death Report only |
€22,564.32 |
€19,711.36 |
€22,175.28 |
|
Death Report and PM |
€8,107.22 |
€5,467.66 |
€4,147.88 |
|
Report and PM and Inquest |
€1,045.94 |
€1,568.91 |
€6,275.64 |
|
Retainer |
€21,774 |
€21,774 |
€21,774 |
|
TOTAL |
€53,491.48 |
€48,521.93 |
€54,372.80 |
Tipperary South
|
Year |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
|
Death Report only |
€23,083.04 |
€23,601.76 |
€29,826.40 |
|
Death Report +P.M. |
€14,140.50 |
€16,214.44 |
€16,780.06 |
|
Report + P.M. + Inquest |
€16,735.04 |
€20,918.80 |
€13,597.22 |
|
Retainer |
€21,774 |
€21,774 |
€21,774 |
|
TOTAL |
€75,732.58 |
€82,509 |
€81,977.68 |
