Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising the issue. There are a number of matters. There is nothing in the Bill that precludes the MAIU from engaging with the coroner. Nothing in the Bill precludes a coroner from referring to a report of the MAIU during an inquest because questions of liability, whether criminal or civil, are not part of the coronial process. It is a strict requirement of the new directive that the investigations of the MAIU must be independent of other parallel investigations. The sharing of evidence between the MAIU and other bodies would be contrary to this. There is also a risk of creating a chilling effect whereby witnesses would be fearful of sharing evidence with investigators if that information were to be used for any purpose other than the investigation of the accident.