Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am a little more concerned now than I was when I first spoke. The Minister of State indicated that there is nothing to preclude the MAIU from engaging but then outlined something that seemed to suggest it would be precluded. I do not believe this is the intention of the directive. The coroner's court looks into causes of death. I do not believe this should be considered to be at odds with an investigation into the cause of an accident. Perhaps there is an issue with the sequencing of investigations.

I do not agree with the Minister of State's on sharing evidence. It is not a parallel investigation if there is a coroner's investigation into the cause of death of an individual and an investigation into a marine accident . I do not see these as being at odds. I hope the Minister of State, either today or on Report Stage, will very clearly signal that this will not be an obstacle. What the Minister of State has described is something that could be very easily used by investigators to choose not to share information with a coroner's court, using the exact arguments that they do not want to be part of two investigations, it would interfere with their independence or that it may have a chilling effect on people coming forward. Perhaps there is a need for safeguards regarding the type of evidence that is shared, how the evidence is shared and the sequencing involved. These issues may be complicated, but the fact that they are complicated points to the need to be very clear in the law in terms of how the engagement should take place. As the Minister of State said, there is sensitivity in the context of independence. However, there is also the very important work done by coroners. That work should be supported. There may be an opportunity for the Department to come back with an amendment on Report Stage which clarifies the position when it comes to engagement.