Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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242. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of an inquest into the death of a person (details supplied); the reason for the delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25029/19]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the legislation governing Coroners is the Coroners Act, 1962.

Under this legislation a coroner is a statutory officer exercising quasi-judicial functions, in relation to which he or she is independent. The coroner is responsible for the scheduling and conducting of inquests in his or her district. The Deputy will appreciate that neither I nor my Department has any role in the conduct of individual cases.

I am informed 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 examination, any tests carried out as part of the post-mortem process, and the assembling of a full inquest file by An Garda Síochána containing all relevant witness statements and depositions.

However, I understand that the coroner concerned has kept the next of kin informed as to the progress of the investigation.