Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I thank the Minister for so generously and at such short notice accepting this legislation prepared by Deputy Rabbitte. We will accept the amendments he has proposed as they will improve the legislation. I thank all of the contributors, Deputies Jim O'Keeffe, Crawford, O'Dowd, Cuffe, Ó Caoláin, Cowley and Connolly. I am delighted with the level of interest in the legislation and the number of Members who contributed to the debate. I have no doubt we would have had more speakers if more time had been available.

This is simple but important legislation in that it will allow, for the first time since the Act was passed in 1962, the system to operate in such a way where more than two medical practitioners can attend the Coroner's Court. That is the first instance. In the second it will allow for powers to enforce the attendance by jurors and witnesses at the court. These may appear to be simple issues but they had the effect of preventing the coroner from doing his or her job properly. Very often families which were already traumatised by the death of a member of the family left the court frustrated with the results obtained. We must not forget that there are hundreds of such court hearings the length and breadth of the country.

I sympathise deeply with the Nowlan family which lobbied Deputy Rabbitte to consider introducing this legislation to ensure its case could be dealt with properly. Many other families will benefit from the legislation. That is the reason we are particularly appreciative that the Minister has decided to take it at short notice. Second Stage will conclude tonight. Committee, Report and Final Stages will be taken tomorrow and I have no doubt the Bill will be adopted with the support of all sides of the House by tomorrow night. It will then go to the Seanad the following day, with the result that it will be passed by both Houses by the end of the week.

There are many other issues we would like to address, which a number of speakers mentioned. They include nursing homes, prisons, Garda custody, hospitals and suicides and drugs, issues currently not properly covered in coroners' inquests. I know from experience of attending a number of inquests involving, say, the Prison Service that there are serious problems in putting together the panel of jurors. There is not a common practice and very often the local Garda sergeant is sent out to empanel a jury, the members of which are brought in, put sitting on seats and expected to do their job in that respect. That is not a satisfactory way of putting together a jury. The coroners' inquest system must be extended to cover the areas I have mentioned.

It is a shame that, with the best will in the world, we have not implemented the recommendations of the working group on the coroner service which reported in 2000 and put more comprehensive legislation in place. I trust the Minister will bring his Bill before the House in 2006 and that we will all be anxious to expedite its passage through the House.

I want to briefly mention something we are doing in examining the Séamus Ludlow case. The family of Séamus Ludlow who was assassinated by paramilitaries from Northern Ireland was not informed when the inquest into his death was taking place. It is essential that the relevant persons are informed of inquests and that such a mechanism is in place.

On the question of riders or recommendations, it is not just a matter of the simple questions of how, when and where. It should be possible to have a more robust decision-making process to answer more of the questions not being answered currently. Legal aid must also be provided.

To come back to the two main issues before us, only two medical practitioners may be present but there is often a conflict between these two practitioners and there is no mechanism to resolve it. I understand that in the Nowlan case there were over 20 medical professionals involved who would have been able to come to court to assist in getting a satisfactory outcome to the coroner's inquest. In many cases, this is a problem in that there is a simple conflict and no way of bringing others to the court to try to resolve it. This leads to enormous frustration.

On the other side of the coin there is a huge problem with witnesses refusing to come to court, the current penalty for which is a fine of approximately €6.35. This is unenforceable. There is no remedy to compel any person, a juror or a witness, to attend. Deputy Crowley outlined the details of the sad case of a natural health therapist who provided so-called medical therapy and treatment and when a person died, refused to attend court to give any evidence on the manner in which medical treatment or therapy had been provided. We cannot have a situation where such a key person can refuse to attend. We might as well not hold the court hearing if that happens. It is essential to ensure every coroner will have the relevant medical professional practitioners involved in the case present at the inquest and the power to compel the attendance of witnesses who might otherwise refuse to attend.

I am delighted the Government has accepted the Bill and that the Opposition parties have agreed to expedite its processing through the Oireachtas. I look forward to seeing the proposed legislation passed by both Houses on Thursday evening.

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