Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)

I agree with the Deputy that it is a very traumatic experience for a family after there has been a death if they are told that there has to be a post mortem and then there can be a considerable wait prior to the funeral. I would not like to see Ireland develop in the same way as other countries where there is a significant delay between death and the funeral. One of the things we do very well in this country is death and it is not something that we want to change by having a big gap between death and a funeral.

Where a coroner deems a post mortem examination to be required, the coroner concerned will arrange the post mortem examination to be conducted as expeditiously as possible to ensure timely release of the remains to the next of kin. Depending on the circumstance of the death, a post mortem examination is carried out by a pathologist or, in State forensic cases, by the Office of the State Pathologist. I am in the process of seeking to review the law in respect of coroners. We need to examine the circumstances of when we order a post mortem. A post mortem is not needed in all the situations that we have them at present, particularly for elderly people, but that level of reform will not be in place by 1 January. I am concerned about what the Deputy has narrated as to the circumstances in University Hospital Waterford.

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