Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The role of the coroner is vital. Coroners are charged with the most sensitive and difficult cases. Deaths that are sudden, unnatural, violent or unexplained are reported to the coroner. As well as the basic investigative function of the coroner, there is a public duty to draw attention to the existence of circumstances which, if left unremedied, might lead to further deaths. There is an onus on the coroner to allay rumour or suspicion, to advance medical knowledge and to preserve the legal interests of the people and parties affected. It is a great responsibility to society in general but also to the relatives and friends of the deceased at a time of trauma in their lives.

When talking about the role of the coroner, I must make reference to the Stardust inquest that is currently under way. Families waited a very long time for that full inquest. Having spent time with the families from my own constituency, I know how it hard it was for them to feel that the State had not exhausted every avenue in trying to understand what happened to their loved ones. The dignity and persistence of the families in their search for the truth is truly inspiring. The Stardust case is unique and exceptional but the experience of the bereaved in cases being investigated is shaped by the coroner. The role is not just a technical, legal and medical one, but also a caring one. I am also thinking of the case of Terence Wheelock and of his brother, Larry, who is no longer with us and who was an inspirational campaigner for justice for Terence, who went into Store Street Garda station as a young man and did not come out alive.

The report of the Oireachtas justice committee has called for the system to be centred on the bereaved. It is clear that the majority of cases are handled sensitively and with great care by coroners across the country with families kept informed and their questions answered. It is also clear that there are large backlogs across the service. This only causes delay and distress to families. While I acknowledge this Bill is an effort to alleviate some of the pressures being experienced in the coroners service, the problem we face is that it does not adequately address what is a structural and legislative problem that absolutely needs to be corrected.

Let me be clear; the root cause is not the coroners but rather the Oireachtas and the Government. It is our responsibility to ensure that coroners are well equipped to do their jobs effectively. Families are waiting up to two years for an inquest. This is simply cruel. The temporary appointment of an additional two coroners for Dublin in response to the pandemic was welcome but it was a stop-gap measure. If we are honest with ourselves, this Bill is also a stop-gap measure, as pointed out by my colleague, Senator Mark Wall, in the Seanad. It is just the latest in a series of stop-gap amendments. What we need is fundamental reform of the coroners service. Simply put, the 1962 Act is generally acknowledged not to be fit for the modern world.

We are all aware that a public consultation on the matter has just concluded and I expect that the Minister and the Department will be working on producing legislation on the back of that. The problem we face is that we have been here before. In 2005, Labour Party leader and TD, Pat Rabbitte, proposed a short amendment Bill that fixed one particularly distressing defect in the legislation. This was accepted by the then Government and became law. At the time, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform commented that he had produced a Bill to overhaul the system, which he had put before the Attorney General for observations, and that he intended to publish the heads of the Bill, of which there were more than 190, for public consultation. Before that, the previous Minister had already started a reform process and had established a coroners review group. That expert group published its report in 2000. The report included 110 recommendations to reform the service. The review, report and recommendations were published more than 20 years ago and yet we are still waiting on a full Bill to be published. We now have another stop-gap amendment and another coroners service reform consultation.

The Department of Justice now has a very substantial workload and we should not underestimate the difficulty in drafting such fundamental legislation. My question for the Minister and the Department is what are the obstacles in the way of producing the full Bill needed. Change is difficult and not without risk but even this amendment Bill has seen serious concerns raised by Eleanor Fitzgerald, president of the Coroners Society of Ireland. She has said that the Bill compromises the independence and functioning of the office of the coroner. It is important that any Bill produced is robust and that the Department is satisfied with it but the issues and difficulties within the coroners service have been ongoing for decades now, since even before the expert group report in 2000. The 1962 act remains the principal Act and the structure of the coroners service remains, in large part, as prescribed in the Act. If there are obstacles to reforming that Act, they should be brought out into the open and addressed by the Dáil and by those who provide the service.

The issues with the service have already been identified, consultations have already taken place and reports have already made recommendations. The frustration here is that more public consultation is only going to delay the necessary fundamental reforms taking place. Our fear about this Bill is that it may do more harm than good. I do not believe it is particularly well thought out and I am concerned that it does not address the problems and has not been agreed with the society. The independence of the coroner is an issue that needs the full focus of the Minister. If the Government is to press this latest stop-gap Bill, it should at least work closely with the society to ensure that the Bill can do what it hopes to achieve without undermining the coroners service. However, if the obstacles to the reform of the service are to be fully addressed, it must be in the context of comprehensive new legislation. There is no doubt that this will present challenges. Change is not easy, but we can no longer continue kicking the can down the road. At this moment, we see that the blockage is the failure of the Government to produce new legislation, a failure that dates back 20 years. We all want to see the backlogs cleared as the service is under severe pressure but I am not convinced another sticking plaster is the answer.

It is disturbing that the 1962 Act is still the principal Act in this area. Despite all the reviews and amendments over the years, we are still no closer to publishing a Bill. If the Government is serious it needs to make time and space to publish and implement primary legislation so we are not just pushing this issue beyond the next election when, no doubt, it would get backed up towards the end of the term of another Dáil. The public consultation has already taken place and the reviews have taken place. I ask the Minister of State and the Government to publish new primary legislation and to act quickly on the outcomes of the consultation in order that the House get down to properly addressing, assessing, scrutinising and passing legislation. If there is a fundamental reason the Government is afraid of doing this, the Minister of State needs to be frank about it. If there is an impasse, we should know what it is.

The role the coroner is a fundamental component in protecting everyone. It is crucial to the functioning of our democracy. I am of the view that it is more essential than at any time in the past 30 years that we bring the office into the 21st century.

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