James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to introduce the Coroners (Amendment) Bill 2024. The Coroners (Amendment) Bill 2024 is a necessary interim legislative amendment pending a broader review of the Coroners Act 1962 and it should be considered against the backdrop of a public consultation process which has recently been launched by the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee.

The Coroner Service provides an important service to bereaved families who are often going through the most difficult time in their lives when engaging with their local coroner. While there are many positive aspects of the Coroner Service, there are also aspects which could be modernised. In this regard, it is important that a reformed Coroner Service in the future is family-centred, preserves all the good elements which currently exist and modernises, where appropriate.

In February of last year, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice published a report which examined the operation of the Coroner Service and, subsequent to this report, on 20 October last year, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, launched a wide-ranging public consultation process. Recommendations from the joint Oireachtas committee's report were a helpful resource for officials in the Department in compiling a consultation document in relation to the reform of the Coroner Service. It is intended that proposals for a renewed Coroner Service will be brought to the Government later in 2024.

The Department of Justice has established an advisory committee to support the consultation process. Members include representatives from the Department of Justice, the Coroners Society of Ireland, the Department of Health, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the HSE, An Garda Síochána, the Office of the State Pathologist, the faculty of pathology in the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, RCPI, an independent expert and, importantly, members of the public who have lived experience of the Coroner Service.

On a short-term basis, the Coroners (Amendment) Bill 2024 will address the immediate challenges in relation to the Coroner Service. In particular, the Bill ensures that an appropriate number of coroners can be appointed in the Dublin district, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. It ensures that additional temporary coroners can be appointed if required in all coroner districts nationally.

The urgency of this Bill relates to the fact that the Covid-related legislation provision, which provides for the appointment of temporary coroners, is due to expire in February 2024 for the Dublin district. In the absence of amending legislation, the expiry of the existing section 11B of the Coroners Act 1962 in the Dublin district, coupled with the necessity for a coroner to conclude the Stardust inquests, would leave a significant gap in resources in the Dublin district. This would inevitably result in a significant impact on bereaved families who rely on the important service provided by coroners.

Section 5 of the Bill allows for the extension of temporary appointments of coroners for the Dublin district to avert a slowdown of operations in the district. The changes to be introduced in this section will also provide greater flexibility for the appointment of temporary coroners to all coroner districts, as and when they are required. An additional benefit of the new measures is that any temporary coroner under the new measures will be for a term not exceeding 12 months, which is longer in duration than the existing provisions, which expire after six months.

These new provisions will enable the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to determine when the workload of a coroner district demands additional temporary coroners to effectively manage the workload of that district. The Bill also provides greater stability in the Dublin district by providing for the appointment of coroners for the district on a fixed-term basis for a term that does not exceed five years and which may be renewed once. This reflects the need to meet the requirements of a very busy district, which has operated on the basis of temporary assignments since 2016. This will provide security of tenure for coroners in the district for a minimum of a five-year term.

It is intended that appointments under the new provisions in the Bill will be made following a competitive recruitment process to be jointly conducted by the Department of Justice and the Public Appointments Service, PAS. The Bill redesignates the coroners in the Dublin district as civil servants of the State. Maintaining the independence of coroners in the performance of their statutory duties under the Coroners Act 1962, as amended, was an important consideration in drafting this Bill. Department officials worked alongside the Office of the Attorney General in this regard and are satisfied that the designation of coroners in the Dublin district as civil servants of the State does not impinge on their independence.

The Bill discontinues deputy coroner appointments in the Dublin district. In all other districts, where there is only a single coroner, a deputy will still be required. However, in the Dublin district, where there will be multiple coroners, a deputy role is no longer required. Another important aspect of the Bill is that it provides the legislative certainty that is necessary to ensure the effective continuity of the Stardust inquests.

Turning to the structure of the Bill, it comprises 12 sections. The main provisions of the Bill include the following. Section 2 of the Bill provides that the Minister of Justice, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, will stipulate the terms and conditions under which appointments of coroners for the Dublin district will be made. The section further changes the status of coroners for the district from that of officeholder to civil servant of the State. It provides that any future appointments will be made on that basis and the position is effectively a full-time post. In addition to the above, section 2 of the Bill provides that coroners for the district will no longer be able to appoint deputies and any existing deputy will cease to hold their office after the commencement of the Act.

Section 3 of the Bill provides that future appointments to the district would be for a fixed term not exceeding five years, renewable with the consent of the Minister for public expenditure and reform for one term only. Section 5 of the Bill provides for the assignment or appointment of temporary coroners to any coroner district where the workload demands of the district warrant such. The renewal of any appointments made under the revised provisions is capped at three terms. Section 6 of the Bill consolidates existing disperse provisions relating to senior coroner designations in the Act of 1962. Section 9 of the Bill inserts a new section in the Coroners Act 1962 to provide for the circumstances under which persons will be ineligible for appointment as a coroner or deputy coroner and will be disqualified from holding office as a coroner or deputy coroner.

Section 9 will apply to all coroner districts other than Dublin. However, it will extend to temporary appointees to the Dublin district.Section 10 will replace the existing provisions with regard to the removal of a coroner with more updated provisions.

Section 11 redefines the definition of “a Coroner for the Coroner’s district of Dublin”, and by so doing it makes the necessary changes to ensure the senior coroner in situin the Dublin district can continue to act as coroner for the purpose of the Stardust inquests.

This short Bill contains a number of important amendments to ensure effective continuity of coroner operations both in the Dublin district and in respect of all other districts. I thank Senators for taking the time to consider the issues raised by this Bill and look forward to hearing their comments. The Minister hopes that with the co-operation of all sides, we can facilitate its swift passage through this House given the priority nature of the Bill, with a view to early enactment.

I commend the Bill to the House.