Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the removal of the restriction on the coroner and I acknowledge the work of the Minister in that regard. I understand what he means on the need for the chair to have coronial expertise. I wonder if we could consider another criterion so another member of the board could have expertise in transitional justice instead of the chair.

I recognise why the local authority element is included. Given the reality of what I have explained, with local authorities playing a role in the experience of many people who suffered abuse and all of that, often in county homes, perhaps we could look at having somebody separate from the local authority liaising with them in regard to the board. That would at least give acknowledgement to the fact that abuse that many people experienced was very much facilitated by a local authority.