Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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328. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if there are plans in relation to reform of the system of coroners. [1790/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the coroner is an independent quasi-judicial office holder whose core function is to investigate sudden and unexplained deaths so that a death certificate can be issued. This is an important public service to the living and in particular to the next-of-kin and friends of the deceased. Coroners not only provide closure for those bereaved, but also perform a wider public service by identifying matters of public health and safety concerns.

Significant modernisation of the law has taken place in the Coroners (Amendment) Act 2019, including:

- Clarifying that the purpose of the inquest goes beyond establishing the medical cause of death, to establishing the circumstances in which death took place (without any finding of civil or criminal liability);

- Express requirements for mandatory reporting and inquest in a range of circumstances including late maternal deaths; stillbirths where there is cause for concern and; deaths in State custody or detention;

- Mandatory reporting to a coroner of all stillbirths, intrapartum deaths and infant deaths

- Specific provisions on notice of an inquest to be provided to family members of the deceased person.

Due to the major challenges then confronting public finances, the administrative restructuring proposed in the Coroners 2007 Bill was not progressed.My Department is, however, committed to bringing forward nationwide coroner review proposals to address identified issues and drive innovative change. I can assure the Deputy that work is well underway in my Department in that regard.