Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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484. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to the fact that post mortem examinations are not carried out in Sligo on weekends; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that if a person dies in Sligo on a Friday and a post mortem is required by law the deceased person is transported to Navan, County Meath for the autopsy; if it has been brought to his attention that the cost of transporting the remains of a person to Navan for an autopsy can be in the region of €800 and that the necessity on occasions to have a garda travel to Navan to be present at the autopsy to identify the remains also puts a strain on Garda resources; if there are any guidelines in place with regard to such matters; if the coroner is responsible for the operation of such post mortem examinations; the Department, agency or authority that provides the funding to cover the cost of the service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17724/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The arrangements made for the carrying out of post-mortems are a matter for the relevant coroner. In this context the Deputy will appreciate that a coroner is a statutory officer exercising quasi-judicial functions in relation to which he or she is independent and neither I nor my Department has any role in the coronial process in particular cases. The costs associated with the provision of services for coroners are met by local authorities.