Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 156: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will investigate the case of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34576/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I can inform the Deputy that the position as outlined in my written Reply to Parliamentary Question No. 166 of Thursday 25 September, 2008 remains the same. The Coroner inquiry process is a matter for the relevant Coroner, who is independent in the exercise of that quasi-judicial role.

In certain cases a post-mortem will be required so that the Coroner can carry out his/her statutory functions and a range of factors can influence the time it takes for the post-mortem report to be forwarded by the pathologist concerned. I am advised by the Cork Coroner's Office that in their experience, it generally takes between three and six months for a post-mortem report to be received, but that in cases where further specialist tests, e.g. toxicology, histology and microbiology, are required, it may take longer.