Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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98. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the legal support the State offers to families of victims of homicide. [47407/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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In common with victims of crime generally, families of homicide victims can, on request to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, have that Office:

- take their views into account when deciding whether to prosecute

- look again at a decision it has made with which the family do not agree

- arrange for the family to talk to the prosecution solicitor and barrister before the court case begins, to hear about the procedure in court, but not to talk about evidence.

Families of victims of homicide victims can also request the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to tell them the reason if there is a decision not to prosecute.

While not relating specifically to the families of victims of homicide, Section 60 (5) of the Coroners Act 1962, inserted by Section 24(b) of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013, provides for 8 categories of cases where a coroner may make a request to the Legal Aid Board for legal services to be provided for a family member of a deceased person. These relate to the circumstances where a person has died in the custody or care of the State or where the coroner is of the opinion that the continuation of the circumstances would be prejudicial to the health or safety of the public. Applications for legal representation at inquests are currently considered on a case by case basis and a formal scheme providing for the statutory provision of such representation will be in place in January, 2015.