Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 61:

In page 62, to delete lines 17 to 34 and substitute the following:

“ “(3A) In providing the information under subsection (3), a coroner shall notify or cause to be notified a family member of the deceased person, the subject of the information, that approval by the family member (in this Act referred to as an ‘authorisation’) will be sought in respect of the final management of certain material of the deceased person.

(3B) Subsequent to the information being provided to a family member under subsection (3), the coroner shall further notify or cause to be notified the family member concerned that certain material has been retained for the purposes of the post-mortem examination.

(3C) Where at any time following a post-mortem examination, a coroner on foot of receipt of confirmation from a registered medical practitioner directed to make that examination is satisfied that retention of material from the body of the deceased is no longer necessary, or where the provisions of section 33(4) apply, he or she shall notify or cause to be notified a family member of the deceased person of that fact.

(3D) A notification under subsection (3C) shall inform the family member, the recipient of the notification of the following, namely:

(a) that the coroner has requested the designated person in the hospital or relevant facility where the post-mortem examination took place to contact the family member;

(b) the contact details of the designated person;

(c) that the designated person will request an authorisation from the family member for the final management of certain material retained following that examination;

(d) the authorisation for final management of material shall provide for—

(i) the return of material removed from the body where such return is consistent with guidelines, but shall not include tissue samples held on slides or blocks or trimmings or bodily fluids removed during the post-mortem examination,

(ii) the disposal of the material, by the designated person in a hospital or relevant facility, or

(iii) the use, by the hospital or relevant facility, of the material to further clinical teaching, medical education or research prior to ultimate disposal.”,”.

See this speech in context