James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I welcome the opportunity to introduce the Coroners (Amendment) Bill 2024. The Bill is a necessary interim legislative amendment pending a broader review of the Coroners Act 1962. It should be considered against the backdrop of a public consultation process which concluded on 19 January.

The Coroner Service provides an important service to bereaved families who are often going through the most difficult time in their lives when engaging with their local coroner. There are many positive aspects of the Coroner Service, while there are also aspects which could be modernised. In this regard, it is important that a reformed Coroner Service in the future is family-centred, preserves all of the good elements that currently exist and modernises, where appropriate.

The Joint Committee on Justice published a report that examined the operation of the Coroner Service in February of last year. Subsequent to this report, on 20 October last, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, launched a wide-ranging public consultation process. Recommendations from the joint committee’s report were a most helpful resource for officials in the Department of Justice in compiling a consultation document on reform of the Coroner Service. The consultation canvassed a broad spectrum of stakeholders including bereaved individuals who have engaged with the Coroner Service. Officials are currently analysing the feedback and proposals. It is intended that proposals on a renewed Coroner Service will be brought to Government later this year.

The Department of Justice has established an advisory committee to support the consultation process. Members include representatives from the Coroners Society of Ireland, the Departments of Justice, Health and Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the HSE, An Garda Síochána, the Office of the State Pathologist, the faculty of pathology in the Royal College of Physicians, an independent expert and importantly members of the public who have lived experience of the Coroner Service. This committee has met and been consulted on a number of occasions including earlier this week.

On a short-term basis, the Coroners (Amendment) Bill 2024 will address the immediate challenges with the Coroner Service. In particular, the Bill ensures that an appropriate number of coroners can be appointed in the Dublin district with the consent of the Minister of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. Furthermore, it ensures that additional temporary coroners can be appointed, if required in all coroner districts nationally.

The urgency with which the Bill is being taken is due to the fact that a Covid-related legislative provision that provides for the appointment of temporary coroners is due to expire later this month in respect of the Dublin district. In the absence of amending legislation, the expiry of the existing section 11B of the Coroners Act 1962 in the Dublin district, coupled with the necessity for a coroner to conclude the Stardust inquests, a significant gap in resources would arise in the Dublin district. This would inevitably result in a negative impact on bereaved families who rely on the important service provided by coroners.

Section 5 of the Bill allows for the extension of temporary appointments of coroners for the Dublin district to avert a slowdown of operations. The changes to be introduced in this section will also provide greater flexibility for appointment of temporary coroners to all coroner districts, as and when required. An additional benefit of the new measures is that any temporary coroner under the new measures will be for a term not exceeding 12 months, which is longer in duration than the existing provisions which expire after only six months. These new provisions enable the Minister for Justice and the Minister for public expenditure to respond quickly when the workload of a coroner district demands additional temporary coroners to effectively manage the workload of a coroner district.

The Bill also provides greater stability in the Dublin district by providing for the appointment of coroners for the district on a fixed-term basis for a term not exceeding five years, which may be renewed once. This reflects the need to meet the requirements of a very busy district, which has operated on the basis of temporary assignments since 2016. This will provide security of tenure for coroners in the district who can potentially serve out a ten-year term, assuming their initial appointment is renewed. This tenure provision should be considered in the context of the consultation exercise on reforming the Coroner Service. It should also be noted that five-year terms are standard for many senior level roles in the public service. This Bill does not change the tenure provisions of coroners for districts outside Dublin. The tenure provisions of all coroner appointments will be revisited as part of the reform process. It is intended that appointments under the new provisions in the Bill will be made following a competitive recruitment process to be jointly conducted by the Department of Justice and the Public Appointments Service.

The Bill designates coroners in the Dublin district as civil servants of the State. Maintaining the independence of coroners in the performance of their statutory duties under the Coroners Act 1962, as amended, was an important consideration in drafting this Bill. Departmental officials engaged extensively with the Attorney General’s office in this regard. It is the clear advice of the latter that the designation of coroners in the Dublin district as civil servants of the State does not impinge on their independence. There are several examples of officeholders for whom independence is critical who are also civil servants of the State. These include quasi-judicial office holders such as the Deputy Master of the High Court and the Examiner of the High Court. The Director of Public Prosecutions, whose independence is beyond doubt, is also a civil servant of the State. It should be noted that there is no substantive change to the statutory functions of coroners on foot of this Bill.

The Bill discontinues deputy coroner appointments in the Dublin district. In all other districts, where there is only a single coroner, a deputy will still be required.

However, in the Dublin district, where there will be multiple coroners, the deputy role is no longer required. Another important aspect of the Bill is that it provides the legislative certainty necessary to ensure effective continuity of the Stardust inquests.

Turning to the structure of the Bill, it comprises 12 sections and its main provisions include the following. Section 2 provides that the Minister for Justice, with the consent of the Minister for public expenditure, will stipulate the terms and conditions under which fixed-term appointments of coroners for the Dublin district will be made. The section further designates coroners for the district as civil servants of the State and provides that any future appointments will be made on the basis that the position is effectively a full-time post. In addition to the above, section 2 provides that coroners for the Dublin district will no longer be able to appoint deputies, and any existing deputy in the district will cease to hold his or her office after the commencement of the Act.

Section 3 provides that future appointments to the district will be for a fixed term not exceeding five years, renewable with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform for one term only.

Section 5 provides for the assignment or appointment of temporary coroners to any coroner district for a period not exceeding 12 months where the workload demands of the district warrant such. The renewal of any appointments made under the revised provisions is capped at three terms.

Section 6 consolidates existing disparate provisions relating to senior coroner designations in the Act of 1962.

Section 9 inserts a new section into the Coroners Act 1962 to provide for the circumstances in which persons will be ineligible for appointment as coroner or deputy coroner and disqualified from holding office as coroner or deputy coroner. Section 9 will apply to all coroner districts with an exception in respect of fixed-term appointees to the Dublin district. Such appointees will be governed by Civil Service eligibility criteria.

Section 10 will replace the existing provisions regarding the removal of a coroner with more updated provisions. Section 10 will also introduce important natural justice-related safeguards in relation to the existing removal provisions in the Act.

Section 11 redefines the definition of “coroner for the coroner’s district of Dublin”. By so doing, it makes the necessary changes to ensure the senior coroner currentlyin situin the Dublin district can continue to act as coroner for the purpose of the Stardust inquest.

This short Bill contains a number of important amendments to ensure effective continuity of coroner operations both in the Dublin district and in respect of all other districts. I thank Deputies for taking the time to consider the issues raised by this Bill. I look forward to hearing their comments. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, hopes, with the co-operation of all sides, that we can facilitate its swift passage of the Bill through this House given its priority nature and with a view to early enactment. I commend the Bill to the House.

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