Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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A year ago, sadly, Andrew Gearns passed away. I want to take this opportunity to express my condolences to the Gearns family. One year on, his family are still waiting for an inquest and they feel it would help them to move forward with their grief. Andrew's brother Evan contacted me, very upset and frustrated at the length of time the family are waiting for an inquest.

Unfortunately, there are too many families like the Gearns family in Cork. This is not the fault of the coroner or his staff, who do Trojan work despite being under-resourced and understaffed. Cork Coroners Court deals with a quarter of the cases that the Dublin City Coroner deals with yet has only two staff compared to Dublin's 24. The courtroom they used pre-Covid is now an office to facilitate social distancing and the coroner has to fit in inquests where he can. Without proper funding, the coroner cannot do his job and families like the Gearns are left waiting. Surely, the Minister of State can recognise the role she has to play in this.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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When somebody dies in tragic circumstances or other circumstances that require an inquest, that inquest is part of the process of healing, recovering afterwards and grieving. Obviously, it is complex and it is not possible to do it straight away.

It is not reasonable to expect families to wait a year and more for such an inquest, particularly when there may be unanswered questions and when there may be so much that they want to know, or where there is a need for closure. That is what the inquest is about.

I have been contacted by families who have been waiting for a significant period, including the Gearns, whose situation Deputy Gould eloquently outlined. It is heartbreaking.

It also affects our understanding as policymakers. For example, it slows down our ability to gather statistics on suicides. Indeed, there is a wider issue about the inconsistency of how numbers relating to suicides are compiled in coroner's reports. It slows down the ability to compile statistics around accidents and the like. This is all slowed down by the fact that the coroner's court is facing such delays. They are not without importance.

The key issue is families are waiting a year or more to find out what happened to their loved one and to find answers to so many of their questions. That is not remotely good enough. Deputy Gould outlined it. With a quarter of the cases that Dublin handles and one twelfth of the staff, how can they keep up? It is not their fault. They do not have the resources. They need far greater resources to deal with these inquests.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for raising this important matter and for the opportunity to provide clarity on some issues.

The Coroner Service comprises the network of coroners located in districts throughout the country. Coroners are independent quasi-judicial officeholders whose core function is to investigate sudden and unexplained deaths so that a death certificate can be issued.

This is an important public service to the living, in particular, to the next-of-kin and friends of the deceased. Coroners not only provide closure for those bereaved, but also perform, as Deputy Ó Laoghaire said, a wider public service by identifying matters of public health and safety concerns.

The timing and conduct of inquests in any district is a matter entirely for the coroner concerned. Neither I nor my Department has any function in this regard.

Most coroners hold inquests in local court houses, and as a result of Covid-19 public health considerations, inquests have unfortunately been severely curtailed. My Department is aware that the delay in holding inquests is causing distress for families and officials from my Department are liaising with the Courts Service on this matter.

The Courts Service works closely with coroners across the country to facilitate inquests and continues to do so while ensuring adherence to public health guidelines.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State.

We know the coroner is independent. We are not asking about that. What we are asking is that the service would be funded, resourced and staffed to deal with the work it has to do.

The coroner's job is serious and difficult. The Minister of State outlined the roleI am asking what is her role and that of the Department, not in the coroner's work but in the coroner's support with funding and staffing issues.

Families must be supported, especially in this time of need, and not be left waiting months, and even more than a year, for a court date. It is simply not good enough.

There are have been many issues and delays because of Covid. Will the Minister of State give a commitment to provide the resources necessary to clear the backlog?

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I have had a fair few Topical Issues taken since I was elected five years and that is one of the shortest printed responses I have ever seen. That is a desperate response. I can see from the Minister of State's face and from the way she spoke that she is sympathetic and that she understands the problem here. She did not write this. Officials in the Department of Justice had input into this. I ask her to have a word with them. This is not a good enough response for us to go back to those families with.

The Minister of State will be aware that we are not asking her or the Department and her colleague, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, to intervene with coroners and say that they need to hurry up. That is not the issue. The Department appoints the coroners. There are two staff in Cork, 24 in Dublin and the former has a quarter of the cases the latter has. They cannot keep up. How could they?

I believe the Minister of State is sympathetic. I ask her to go back to her Department and say this is not a good enough situation and more staff are needed in Cork. I ask her to work on that.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I understand the frustration and the pain of many families. I empathise with the concerns raised here tonight. I reiterate that I have no role in the timing and the conduct of the inquests and that it is strictly a matter for the coroner concerned.

Regarding the specific concerns relating to Cork, as I have said, the Courts Service works closely with coroners throughout the country to facilitate inquests. They continue to do so, ensuring that they adhere to public health. I will ask my officials to liaise bilaterally with the Deputies regarding the specific concerns in that area in particular.