Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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106. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality her views on the retirement age of coroners (details supplied) and the time persons have to wait for an inquest; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26211/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The retirement age for coroners is set down in section 11 of the Coroners Act 1962 as seventy years of age. This provision was repeated in the Coroners Bill 2007. I have no plans to change the age of retirement.

I can inform the Deputy that the timeframe between the death of a person and the holding of any necessary inquest is dependent on a number of factors, including the receipt by the Coroner of the results of the post-mortem, the receipt by the Coroner of results of any tests carried out as part of the post-mortem process and the question of whether or not a criminal prosecution is being considered. In these circumstances it is not possible to give an average timeframe.

The Deputy will appreciate that Coroners exercise quasi-judicial functions, in respect of which they are independent and it would, therefore, be improper for me to comment on the exercise of these functions.