Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin Senators will bring forward a Bill this evening to amend the Coroners Act to facilitate a transparent jury selection process for the Stardust inquest. The legislation will allow the coroner to use the same mechanisms as those used by the courts for jury selection, including the use of the electoral register. Most people are unaware of just how opaque andad hocjury selection for an inquest is. Reforms of the system have long been sought. Currently, the Garda maintains its own list of jurors for inquests who are, in turn, used multiple times. If the Garda cannot draw a jury from this list alone, the Garda can randomly seek out jurors. Indeed, gardaí have been known to visit public sector places of work to see if anyone is free. It is worth noting, by the way, that An Garda Síochána is a party to the Stardust inquest. Jurors can be known to victims' families, yet legal teams cannot dismiss them. In addition, jurors' work-related income is not protected, as happens in the courts. This is particularly relevant for the Stardust inquest as it will take place over a number of months. It should be clear that a jury is needed for the Stardust inquest, as per section 40 of the Coroners Act. This has been reiterated by the coroner.

The root and branch reform review of the coroner service that was commissioned by a previous Government of which the Taoiseach was a member was never implemented. Just last year, Irish Council for Civil Liberties research found that Ireland's system of investigating death is inadequate and can compound and even aggravate the suffering of loved ones. The Government has given a commitment that the Stardust inquest will be human rights compliant. To deliver on this commitment, the matters relating to juries in terms of selection and income protection must be addressed urgently. Will the Taoiseach commit to this?

See this speech in context