Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

To be fair, the Government has responded to issues that have arisen, which have not been created by it. For example, the Government responded to the free legal aid issue and amended legislation to facilitate that in respect of the coroner's inquests. As the Deputy knows, there was a tribunal of inquiry some time ago, which clearly did not, for understandable reasons, meet the concerns of the families or give closure in any respect. It led to findings that caused a lot of upset. There have been subsequent reviews of that. The latest development is that legal representatives are saying that jurors are needed at the inquests. There has been some correspondence between the Minister for Justice and the coroner regarding that. I met with the families yesterday. There are issues around the Juries Act and the Coroners Act not facilitating a lengthy attendance for something that will take jurors four to six months. That is being examined.

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