Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
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It is 22 years since an independent working group published a very detailed report and findings on the coronial system in Ireland. That working group called for radical reform and major reconfiguration of the coronial system and stated that a clear strategy for change was essential. In April 2021, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, ICCL, published research that showed that no significant reform had occurred in either policy or practice.In fact, its research showed that bereaved families were, and still are, consistently failed by the State. One of the clear failings in inquests is the manner in which the jury is selected. Reform of this process was outlined in the ICCL's recommendations. Jurors in inquests are often used repeatedly, are known to the bereaved families and are selected by An Garda Síochána, even in cases where the Garda is party to the inquest itself. The fact that the inquest system has not been reformed at all in the 20 years since the independent working group made its findings is shameful and means that bereaved families continue to be failed by a system that is just not human rights compliant.

On Friday, 25 September 2019, the Attorney General granted the families of those who lost their loved ones in the Stardust fire a new inquest. He rightly found that a new inquest was not only warranted for the families who had been so badly let down by the original inquest, and the damaging inquiry reports that followed that inquest, but he also found that it was in the wider public interest that a new inquest be held. As soon as that decision was taken by the Attorney General, the legal team representing the families, other elected representatives from various parties and I repeatedly sought and got assurances from the Minister for Justice that the inquest would not only be adequately funded by the State but that it would be human rights compliant. What has happened to the families to date has been anything but human rights compliant. Legal aid was denied the families earlier last year. They were asked to submit deeply invasive information about their financial circumstances and some of them were refused legal aid. This is despite the fact that they have waited 40 years for justice. Recommendation 22 in the ICCL's report had already flagged this issue.

In recent days, the matter of jury selection at inquests has once again come to the fore. Under no circumstances should the Garda Síochána be selecting the jury for the Stardust inquest. It is a party to this inquest. The ICCL's recommendations 44 and 45 state very clearly that jury selection should be randomly made from the electoral register and that in high-profile cases lawyers should be able to challenge the make-up of that jury.

The other issue with jurors in inquests is the fact that their income is not protected by law. Is the State seriously going to ask jurors to sit for at least a year on the most significant and largest inquest in the history of the State without any income protection whatsoever? Will the Minister of State give a commitment that the Juries Act will be applied to the coronial inquests? While radical reform is still needed, surely that very small but highly significant reform could be applied in time so that it takes effect for the Stardust inquest.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Boylan for raising this very specific question on amending the Juries Act to allow for inquest jurors to be paid while they serve. I understand that the Senator is raising this point in the context of the Stardust inquests. The Stardust fire was a national tragedy that has left a particular legacy of pain for many families and communities. I again offer my deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the 48 young people killed in that fire over 40 years ago.

As the Senator may be aware, there is no requirement for an inquest to have a jury. That decision is a matter for the independent coroner. Furthermore, there is no current statutory authority to prescribe fees or expenses to jurors for service at inquests when summoned to do so by a coroner. Most inquests are completed within a short period. The provisions of the Juries Act 1976 expressly do not apply to coroner inquests. Thus, the expenses provisions in section 29 of that Act do not apply. The Minister for Justice has received a letter from the legal firm representing many of the Stardust victims' families last week concerning matters to do with the inquest. My Department is currently considering this letter and the Minister is committed to ensuring that the new inquests into the Stardust deaths, and the families involved, are provided with all relevant supports.

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
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With all due respect, and this is not directed personally at the Minister of State, the families have had enough of sympathy from Ministers. They have had enough of the tea and sympathy from Ministers for Justice. What they want is a human rights compliant inquest. While the Minister of State said that the provisions of the Juries Act expressly do not apply to coroners' inquests, section 31 of the Act could be amended specifically to allow for it to apply to the Stardust inquest. That was the case with legal aid as a regulation was changed to be specific to the Stardust inquest. To even suggest that there would be no jury for the largest and most significant inquest in the history of the State, to say to the families that they have to go into a system akin to the Special Criminal Court and not have their case, their facts or their findings heard by a jury of their peers, is an insult. I do not mean any disrespect to the Minister of State, who has come here to take this matter, but the families have had enough of this treatment by the State.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I again thank the Senator for raising this very important matter. The conduct of inquests is entirely a matter for the senior Dublin coroner, Dr. Myra Cullinane, and her independence in the context of such matters is set out in the Coroners Acts. Nine pre-inquest hearings have been completed to date. The ninth took place last week, on 19 January. My Department is committed to ensuring that the new inquests into the Stardust deaths, as well as the families involved, are provided with all relevant supports. To this end, Government funding of up to €8 million has been allocated for the new inquest, including for legal aid for the families. My Department and the Government are committed to ensuring that a new venue is in place as soon as possible, in order to permit the inquest to be continued by the Dublin coroner. As stated previously, Department officials are considering the matters raised in the recent correspondence from the legal representatives of the families to the Minister and a response will issue from her in due course.