Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As Senators will be aware, these amendments follow directly from the revised definition of "missing person" as someone whose existence has become uncertain because he or she has disappeared without trace and there are no signs that he or she is alive. The distinction between a death which is virtually certain and one which is highly probable allows for a differentiation in the time period after which an application can be made for a presumption of death order and gives the courts a degree of certainty that the person in question is dead. Given the profound and complex legal consequences of such an order, I consider such a distinction to be appropriate and necessary in these circumstances.

Amendment No. 21 addresses some concerns I have about section 4. It does not specify a waiting period for an application for a presumption of death order. In that context, it would be appropriate to draw a distinction between deaths which are virtually certain and deaths which are highly probable. The amendment reflects the recommendation of the Council of Europe that there not be a minimum waiting period where the missing person’s death can be taken as certain but where the body cannot be recovered. For those whose death is likely, the Council of Europe has recommended that a minimum waiting period of a year be accepted.