Professor Ray Murphy:

I will preface my response by saying that I do not consider myself to have the relevant degree of expertise in the operations of the coroner's court system.

I am aware that even in normal times, it is regarded as being somewhat underresourced with out-of-date legislation that needs to be amended. To deal with something of the nature of the legacy of the mother and child homes, and the mass graves that we are aware of, will take a great deal of resources and expertise. It is incumbent on the State to enshrine in the legislation a formal statutory mechanism to achieve that and then to ensure that the resources are there and it can actually be effective when we go to implement it and carry out the tasks in the legislation. Right now, the legislation is deficient. Even if the coroner was given the role, I do not believe that the coroners have that capacity. I stress that we want to see an independent investigative mechanism that is properly resourced and professionally carries out the investigation to the extent possible. The deaths occurred decades ago and it may not be possible to determine exactly whether it was malnutrition or neglect, but we have an obligation to do the best we can. I respectfully suggest that the current proposal does not fulfill the obligation on the State to do the best it can in these circumstances.