Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Losing a loved one is one of the hardest things we have to cope with during our lives, but losing a loved one whose body is not recovered is a harrowing situation for anyone to be in and an extremely painful time. Sadly, this situation is more common than people realise. The records of the missing persons bureau of An Garda Síochána show that almost 26 people are reported missing every day and more than 9,000 people are typically reported as missing to the Garda every year. With God's help, some of these people will be found well. Sadly, however, for many more families, some people are never found. This Bill will help families of missing persons who are presumed dead to settle their affairs sooner than they could have in the past.

I come from a rural part of west Cork where we have a huge fishing community. Sadly, in the fishing community many lives have been lost at sea over the years, and in many cases it can be some time before a body is recovered. The grave reality is that some bodies are never recovered. For the families this is an awful time in their lives. Not only have they lost a loved one, but it is also very difficult for these families to find closure. The emotional strain and stress these families endure is heartbreaking. Not only do they have to deal with the emotional trauma, but they are also left trying to deal with the financial and legal situation.

Families of missing persons currently face a long battle to settle the estate of a loved one who is presumed dead but whose body has not been found. These families cannot obtain a death certificate when the loved one is missing, even if he or she is presumed dead - for example, when a person is lost at sea - and even though the family may have accepted that the loved one will never come home. Under the current system, these heartbroken families cannot obtain death certificates for their loved ones. The inability to obtain a death certificate creates huge legal obstacles for the families. For example, they cannot claim on the life insurance policy of the holder, claim a pension or wind up a business.

We must bear in mind that some of these families will find themselves in serious financial difficulty when a loved one is missing and presumed dead if they cannot access money from a life insurance policy, access a pension fund or wind down a business, etc. This leaves these families struggling to survive financially. In reality, it leaves them in limbo, unable to take any action in respect of their loved one's affairs. It is important to me, especially coming as I do from a fishing community, as I said, where, sadly, I have seen first-hand so many families suffer the trauma of losing a loved one at sea, knowing in their hearts of hearts that their loved one will not return home, that these families are treated with compassion and understanding. We need to do all in our power to help these heartbroken families and not to add in any way to their suffering.

I welcome this Bill as it puts in place a statutory framework which will provide for the making of a presumption of death order when someone is missing and presumed dead. The Bill is designed to assist the families of missing persons in dealing with the management of the missing person's estate and seeks to provide a clear pathway for families to overcome these challenges at what is already a very difficult time. The Bill will bring a degree of certainty to the lives of the families of missing persons who are presumed dead by allowing these families to make legal and financial decisions in order for them to continue to survive after such a tragic event.

It is important we mention death benefit, which helped many people with their funeral costs. This benefit was once open to everyone who had lost a loved one to apply for but it is now gone and has been replaced by the occupational injuries benefit scheme. However, this scheme is only available if someone dies due to a workplace accident. I call for the death benefit to be made available again to everyone who wishes to apply for it, not only people who have lost their loved ones through workplace accidents. When a person loses a loved one, it is an extremely difficult time, and we should be looking at ways to make this period of someone's life as stress-free as humanly possible. Quite a lot of people in my constituency have come to me down through the years pleading for the death benefit grant to be brought back to the people. The same is probably true of every other constituency. This is a cruel cut at a very difficult time in people's lives. The loss or death of a loved one can be a deeply distressing time. It has been brought to my attention that when Irish people die abroad, their deaths cannot be registered in Ireland if their bodies are not found. This is most heartbreaking for the family and the loved ones of the deceased. As far as I know, a Bill dealing with this issue has been in the Dáil for a number of years and needs to be passed but has not been passed. I empathise with any family left in this situation. This is such a difficult time for a family, and we need to look at ways of supporting bereaved families and allowing these deaths to be registered in Ireland.

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