Ms Doireann O'Mahony:

I offer my sincere thanks for the opportunity to address the committee. I have represented many bereaved families in the coroners' courts across the country. They were spouses, parents and children who were searching for answers as to how, and in what circumstances, their loved ones died. There have been too many times that I have left a coroner's court with families whose grief has only been compounded by the process and whose questions remain unanswered. During the process these people are at their most vulnerable. They deserve truth, justice and accountability. We owe it to them to provide a service that upholds these principles.

I hope that my account of working with bereaved people will help to inform the committee. I will endeavour to make sure that the families whom I represent have their voices heard here today and I am here because of them.

We need to modernise and humanise what is a vital service, which is one of the oldest public services in Ireland but that has come under increasing scrutiny. This afternoon's hearing is not before time. Much credit is due to the committee for putting reform of the coroner service on the agenda.

I believe it is fair to say that little is known about the service by people who have not come in contact with it. The following question has, for example, been asked. When was the last time that an interview was held for a coroner's post? I am not quite sure of the answer but I believe there is a need to reflect very high levels of transparency, accountability and fairness across the service. To this end it would be appropriate for the Minister for Justice to take over the appointment of coroners nationwide. Coroners are appointed by local authorities around the country after being selected by the Commission for Public Service Appointments, whereas in Dublin they are appointed by the Minister. The following question has been asked. How much are coroners paid? Of course they are remunerated out of the public purse. I believe that the salaries payable to coroners should be published.

It is fundamental to the maintenance of confidence in the service that coroners must not only be independent but also impartial. They must treat all witnesses with respect and not give the impression that they have made up their minds in advance. Experience has taught me that most of all, families want a professional service and a professional investigation. The professionalism of the coroner in the lead-up to an inquest very much sets the tone. For example, I have been involved in many inquests where coroners have refused to accede to the request made by families for the attendance of consultants under whose care their deceased loved one was in the lead-up to his or her death unless, and until, a series of questions to be posed to the consultant are provided, which is unfair and is not right. We urgently need standardisation across the system. There are noticeable inconsistencies between districts.

I echo what the other speakers said about recommendations. I mean that recommendations made at inquests need to have force. There should be a duty on coroners to report those recommendations to the relevant entities and a duty on the entities to respond back within a timeframe as to what has or will be done.

We owe it to those who have to go through the extremely agonising and tortuous process of an inquest but there is one glimmer of hope that it can offer, which is learning will come about that will prevent future deaths. I believe that the review system is not user-friendly and ordinary people are intimidated by the idea of having to go to the High Court. I believe that it would be of great benefit were a review panel or board to be established in order that matters could be referred to it, as appropriate.

Lastly, I echo the call for a new post of coroner's officer to be introduced at a regional level. While members of An Garda Síochána in coroners' courts around the country provide an excellent level of care for relatives, the establishment of a new post of coroner's officer is the way forward as it would permit the standards of a service for the bereaved to be raised to an acceptable level for a public service in Ireland in the 21st century.