Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. There are a few parts to his question. One is around the resources. Certainly within the HSE we need to ensure there are sufficient staff numbers available for the post-mortems themselves and then to engage with families. The staffing of coronial post-mortems is a matter for the Department of Justice but we are aligning the regulations to a great extent.

In terms of the engagement itself, this Bill and the regulations will make very clear what is required, and it is comprehensive. For example, when consent is being requested prior to a non-coronial post-mortem - coronial post-mortems do not require consent - a significant amount of information must be given to the person from whom the consent is being sought to enable him or her to understand what the procedure will involve, the types of organs and tissue that are likely to be removed, other information to help him or her to make a decision, the person's entitlement to further information before or after he or she gives consent, options available for burial-disposal, return of organs and return of tissue retained as part of the examination, and the length of time it is likely material will be retained. In cases where organs or tissue may be used by third parties, information relating to the proposed use will be given, and the report of the non-coronial post-mortem examination will be made available to the person. On top of that, as I referenced in this group of amendments, if there are any additional asks of those involved in the post-mortem in terms of other organs, other uses of organs, or third parties looking at them, they have to seek consent for those as well. We are tightening up in these amendments and being very clear that if consent is being given for one organ, that does not apply to any other organ, and if consent is being given for one third-party use that does not apply to any other third-party use.