Dr. Sharon Sheehan:

I wish to add a comment. We have a really good relationship with the Dublin city Coroner, Dr. Brian Farrell. I have spoken to him about these challenges. We know it is extremely difficult for parents to wait for up to two years to know why their baby died. Dr. Farrell has emphasised the extraordinary workload on the Dublin city coroner's office. I suspect that applies to all coroners. I gather the delay in obtaining reports across specialties and individuals has resulted in the delays. Anyway, they are unacceptable. Certainly I would not deign to speak on behalf of Dr. Farrell but in many conversations I have had with him on the matter, I have ascertained that there are major delays in obtaining reports. The volume of work makes it really difficult to hold those inquests or, if there is not going to be an inquest, there are often problems issuing the final report on the cause of death earlier. This is a major challenge.