Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our visitors to the Gallery.

I welcome this important legislation. It is something I have been watching very closely in particular over the past three or four years. There are many aspects to it. The organ-donor aspect has been debated and spoken about quite clearly in the Chamber. I wish to focus my attention on the coroners element of it. Unfortunately, as the Minister is very aware, we had an incident in my part of Ireland where 18 families found out that the organs of their babies were kept and disposed of inappropriately. I mention in particular Laura and Fintan Kelleher from Dunmanway for their campaign for their baby Hope whose organs were unfortunately disposed of in a very inappropriate way. Theirs is one of the 18 families. I have worked with that family over the past two years in particular. They now live in Australia.

It is great that we have moved forward with this legislation because this is what that campaign was about. That campaign was about trying to make sure that appropriate legislation was brought forward so that cases like this would never happen again. This is why this legislation to amend the Coroners Act 1962 is so important. That family has campaigned vigorously for major changes in the law to make sure that what happened to their baby Hope would not happen to any other family. I hope this legislation will bring comfort to them.

It is now about trying to ensure it can get through the processes in the Oireachtas and get this complicated and complex legislation passed. I ask the Minister to provide a timeline for when he believes this legislation will go through all the rigours of the Oireachtas and get signed by the President. Clarity on that would help bring closure for the families. They are looking for closure to move forward. They are looking to get an understanding of when this safeguarding legislation will be enacted so that something that happened to them and 17 other families in Cork will never again happen.