Dr. Maeve O'Rourke:

I will be as brief as possible. I think this aspect relates to the question raised by Senator McGreehan concerning what the threshold is for investigation as well. Before I reiterate what that threshold is, and regarding the issue Senator McGreehan has raised, I think there is some confusion among the public over whether a coroner's inquest requires the exhumation of every body. It does not. The coroner is about investigating and an investigation can happen in the absence of a body. It may be that an exhumation is part of an investigation, but the investigation does not require an exhumation.

Returning to Senator Ruane's question about how many of these deaths require a coroner's inquest, we argue that every single one of the deaths in the mother and baby institutions requires an inquest. The real question then is where that process begins and in respect of a long-term agency coroner. This aspect also relates to Senator Seery Kearney's question regarding the extent to which families even know yet that they might be affected or be able to make representations in this regard. Where to begin then is the real question and not saying from the beginning who should or should not have an inquest, because there is not enough information. What we do know enough about is that these were State-related institutions, either directly run or funded and regulated by the State. There is ample evidence that generally, human rights violations were widespread. Therefore, these are places in respect of which all deaths require inquests. The question is where to begin and how to go about the process. There must be access to records in order that people will even know to come forward and perhaps to request that they are prioritised.