Ms Oonagh Buckley:

First, I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to put on record the fact that the Department very much regrets what happened in the case of Ms Tukula. Her burial was not carried out at the behest of the Department of Justice and Equality. Clearly we have to change the way in which we communicate with coroner's offices to ensure that similar issues do not arise again in circumstances such as these, which thankfully are exceptionally rare.

With regard to Ms Tukula's placement in a centre, she was initially placed in one centre and then moved to another which, it was felt, would be more in keeping with her gender identity and would provide a better environment for her. RIA did react to her initial placement, which may have been inappropriate, and moved her. The circumstances are incredibly sad and we very much regret what happened.