Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 5, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following:" 'designated officer of the Ombudsman Commission' means—

(a) an officer of the Ombudsman Commission, or

(b) a person engaged by the Ombudsman Commission under section 74 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005,

who is designated by the Ombudsman Commission under section 73 of that Act for the purpose of performing functions under Part 4 of that Act relating to a relevant Ombudsman Commission investigation;".

I thank the Deputies present for their engagement on Committee Stage. They will recall that a number of amendments were flagged on Committee Stage, all of which relate to the proposed role for the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission to interact with, or assist, a coroner in place of An Garda Síochána in respect of any death which is the subject of a GSOC investigation under Part 4 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005.

The general position is that in any death that is the subject of a criminal investigation, there is interaction between the Garda Síochána and the coroner. The Garda will inform the coroner if it is launching a criminal investigation and the coroner will defer the inquest until after the completion of the Garda investigation. The Garda will meanwhile keep the coroner informed on the progress of its investigation. Second and more generally, the Garda assists the coroner in such matters as attending with a family member for identification of the body, or serving a witness summons for an inquest. Such assistance may be provided whether or not there is a criminal investigation into the death. A number of provisions in the Coroners Act 1962 expressly provide for Garda assistance of this sort to the coroner.

GSOC opens an investigation into the death of a person under Part 4 of the 2005 Act in the small number of cases where there is a possible Garda connection with the death. This may arise, for example, where a person dies in a road traffic accident following Garda pursuit, where a Garda firearm is discharged, or where a person takes their own life while in Garda custody. In these cases, GSOC rather than An Garda Síochána becomes the lead statutory agency investigating the death and interacts with the coroner in the manner already explained for the Garda. More broadly, given that GSOC is investigating possible Garda implication in the death, it appears more appropriate for a GSOC officer, rather than the Garda, to provide assistance to the coroner in such cases. This is no reflection on the independence or integrity of An Garda Síochána, but I suggest to Members that it is clearly desirable for all concerned that the assistance provided to the coroner in such cases should be demonstrably at arm’s length from the matters being subject to a GSOC investigation.

It is already the practice that interaction with the coroner’s investigation and assistance to the coroner is undertaken by GSOC in a case where it is investigating. Coroners are satisfied with these arrangements and GSOC is satisfied to continue this practice. The intention of this group of amendments, as requested by the chair of GSOC, is to provide an express statutory footing for this to be done.

Amendment No. 1 defines the GSOC designated officer who will interact with or assist the coroner in place of a member of An Garda Síochána. This definition is consistent with the definition used in Part 4 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, which provides for investigation by GSOC into a complaint received by it, a matter referred to it by the Garda Commissioner, or a matter identified by GSOC itself.

Amendment No. 2 defines GSOC as "the Ombudsman Commission" in the definitions section of this Bill. That term is used here for consistency with the Garda Síochána Act 2005.

Amendment No. 3 defines the term "relevant Ombudsman Commission investigation" as used in this Bill. The effect of this definition is that a GSOC designated officer will replace a member of An Garda Síochána for the purposes of interaction with and assistance to the coroner in any case where GSOC is investigating or has already investigated the death of the person whose death is now the subject of the coroner’s inquiry, but only in these cases.

On amendment No. 6, I refer to section 20 of the Coroners Act 1962, it being the principal Act. This addresses a situation where neither the coroner nor the deputy coroner for a district can proceed to hold the inquest into a death due to a vacancy or the coroner being ill, absent, incapacitated or disqualified. Section 20 provides that in such a situation, a member of An Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector may request the coroner for an adjoining district to hold the inquest. The amendment makes the following changes: first, it provides that where there is a relevant GSOC investigation, it is a GSOC designated officer rather than a Garda who makes the request for a coroner to be appointed; second, it provides that the Garda inspector or GSOC designated officer requests the Minister to appoint another coroner, who does not have to be from an adjoining district; and third, there are two minor changes to adapt the wording of the section to the particular case of the coroner’s district of Dublin, which in administrative terms now falls under the Minister’s responsibility rather than the local authority which used to be the case.

Amendment No. 7 refers to section 13 of the Bill, amending section 27 of the principal Act, which deals with identification of the body of the deceased person. Section 27 provides for a garda to assist the coroner by attending with a family member of the deceased or other suitably qualified person to view the body and receive evidence of identification which can be given at the inquest. The amendment provides for a GSOC designated officer to so attend and give evidence in place of the garda if the death is one which is the subject of a GSOC investigation.

Amendment No. 10 refers to section 17 of the Bill, where it substitutes into the principal Act a new section 33A, restating that where a death has been reported to the coroner, the coroner must direct a post mortem examination to be made if a member of An Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector requests the coroner to do so and provides reasons. The new section 33A already provides that such requests may be made by a designated GSOC officer in any death being investigated by GSOC. The amendment adjusts that wording for consistency with the new definitions I have just proposed in section 2.

Amendment No. 14 refers to section 17 of the Bill, where it inserts into the principal Act a new section 33D, providing that when the report of the post mortem examination is sent to the coroner, the coroner shall provide a copy to any statutory investigating body which earlier requested the post mortem examination. Section 33D already provides for the report to be provided to GSOC rather than to An Garda Síochána where GSOC is the requesting body. Again, this amendment merely adjusts that wording for consistency with the new definitions I have proposed in section 2.

Amendment No. 15 refers to section 18 of the Bill, amending section 36 of the principal Act, which provides for a garda to assist the coroner by serving a witness summons or jury summons to attend at an inquest. The amendment provides for a GSOC designated officer to serve the witness summons in place of the garda if the death is one which is the subject matter of a GSOC investigation. I trust that Members are in agreement with me that these amendments are merely for consistency.

Amendment No. 16 provides for a GSOC designated officer to assist the coroner by empanelling a jury for an inquest in place of a garda if the death is one which is the subject of a GSOC investigation.

Amendment No. 17 refers to section 23 of the Bill, amending section 47 of the principal Act, which empowers a garda not below the rank of inspector to apply to the coroner to seek an order for An Garda Síochána to exhume a body if the Garda is of opinion that the death may have occurred in a violent or unnatural manner. We are replacing that with GSOC in appropriate circumstances.

Similarly, amendment No. 18 does so for section 23 of the Bill.

Amendment No. 19 again refers to section 23 of the Bill, providing that it will be an offence for any person to obstruct an accompanying GSOC officer who is acting under the authority of such a warrant in the same way as it referred to An Garda Síochána.

Similarly, amendment No. 20 introduces a new section into the Bill and is being made for the avoidance of doubt.

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