Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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502. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality when a revised version of the Coroner's Bill 2007 will be presented to Dáil Éireann. [50362/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I would refer the Deputy to the reply I gave to Parliamentary Question No. 516 of 1 October, 2013. The Coroners Bill 2007 is before the Seanad having been restored to the Order Paper on my initiative.

The Bill, as published, provides for the comprehensive reform of the existing legislation and structures relating to coroners and provides for the establishment of a new Coroner Service. The Bill incorporates many of the recommendations made by the Coroners Review Group in 2000 and the Coroners Rules Committee in 2003. It will permit the State to better provide for the fulfilment of its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and, in particular, in regard to the Article 2 requirement to ensure an effective investigation of deaths of persons where the circumstances of the death may involve the State.

The Bill is in the course of being reviewed within my Department and while it would be my wish to be in a position to progress this important Bill, it is not possible to indicate with any certainty at this point the likely timetable in that regard.