Mr. David O'Malley:

Generally, I echo the remarks of Professor Cusack regarding the rules for coroners and a coroner's office. It works well in the UK in respect of the inquisitorial nature of things. Cross-examination should just be examination, as we discussed earlier.

I agree with Senator McDowell that juries must be representative of the community. I refer not to people picking holes in juries, but the same people should not be showing up all the time. In the west of Ireland, I see the same people turning up every time I do an inquest. That should not happen.

I did the first inquest involving Covid-19 in the history of the State in Mayo. The family members were not interested in verdicts etc. Those are only gateposts. They are instead interested in how death occurred and the wider recommendation, from a societal perspective, from the coroner. It is mandatory now in the context of all Covid-19 deaths. This is a chance for us all to learn lessons. There are real-time data to assist in charting trends, preventing future deaths and making recommendations for processes in the State. Therefore, we have been a bellwether in the Covid-19 situation and this is a good opportunity to learn lessons. I felt I had to address those couple of points.