Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand entirely where the Minister of State is coming from. These are issues that were canvassed on Second Stage and the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, probably gave a similar view. I was aware of the opinion of the Attorney General regarding independence. I do not agree that there is a legal impediment to this, and there probably is not, but my objection is based on the practicality of it.

If the Minister of State does not mind me saying so, citing the deputy master of the High Court and the DPP as examples of civil servants who carry out independent functions is not the place that this should go. That is for two reasons. First, the deputy master of the High Court is, of course, not the Master of the High Court, and Master of the High Court is an office that is currently essentially vacant because of difficulties in regard to it. I accept the functions are carried out by a civil servant and member of the Courts Service, who is deputy master, but that is an office that has different problems. Of course, the DPP is in a totally different category, given that she is a statutory officer and, under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1974, has a huge degree of independence built into statutory protections, even down to her appointment and the manner in which she is appointed.

I do not deny that these people are independent judicial officers and may be civil servants, but they have statutory powers built into their terms and conditions that give them a much greater level of independence. Nor am I saying that no civil servant could ever act independently. What I am saying is that we have a situation where coroners around the country carry out a quasi-judicial function and they do so with no small degree of excellence, on the whole.They do so very effectively and in circumstances where their caseload is massively increased. I do not see the justification for making them civil servants because, irrespective of what protections we build in to the contents of this Bill, they will be answerable to someone in a way that coroners should not be. That is my considered opinion and that is why I have proposed these amendments. I understand what the Minister of State has said and what the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, said when he was here. I also understand the amendment is not being accepted and, on that basis, I will withdraw it, but I reserve the right to reintroduce it on Report Stage.