Minister McEntee progresses major reform of the Coroner Service
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Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has today (Friday) published a report on the Public Consultation on reform of the Coroner Service. She has also secured government approval to draft the general scheme of a Bill to significantly reform the Coroner Service to increase efficiencies and minimise the impact of the death investigation process on bereaved people.
Welcoming the publication of the Report, Minister McEntee said:
“This report highlights the need for change in the structure of the Coroner Service and crucially, how the service interacts with bereaved people.
“I’m pleased to say there was a high level of engagement with the public consultation, which provided an important opportunity for my department to listen to the views of members of the public and stakeholder groups on how the Coroner Service might be enhanced into the future.
“I am deeply grateful for the insights and personal stories people shared during the consultation process. The open and constructive way they participated was invaluable to fully inform the development of proposals for the reform of the Coroner Service.
“I also want to sincerely thank the members of the Advisory Committee for their insightful input throughout.”
The Heads of Bill, which will be brought to Government in 2025, will address all aspects of the Coroner Service including:
Minister McEntee said:
“The coronial death investigations process can be highly distressing for families of the bereaved. The needs of those families will be at the centre of this planned reform of the Coroner Service.
“A restructured and modernised Coroner Service will drive consistency and will assist coroners to better need the meets of bereaved people , through the provision of enhanced ICT, administrative, and family liaison supports.
“I will also request the Press Council to draft new guidelines for media on the reporting of inquests.”
In August 2023 the department established an Advisory Committee to support the consultation process. The committee was chaired by the Department of Justice and consisted of representatives from the Coroners’ Society of Ireland, the Department of Health, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Health Service Executive, An Garda Síochána, the Office of the State Pathologist, the Royal College of Physicians - Faculty of Pathology, an independent expert, and two members of the public with recent experience of interacting with the Coroner Service on areas of particular interest.
The department has commenced a modernisation project in the Dublin District Coroners’ Office, for which it has operational responsibility. The core aspects of this modernisation programme are improving communication and engagement with bereaved families through 'front facing' elements such as website, leaflets, booklets, letters, and 'back-office' improvements in the form of paperless systems and streamlined processes.
It is intended that the lessons learned in the Dublin District will be used in the development of a national model, once the supporting legislation has been enacted.
Modernisation of the Dublin Coroners’ Office is an important step towards improving efficiencies and delivering a compassionate service in the context of an increased number of investigations which Coroners in the Dublin district have been dealing with in recent years. Resources in the Dublin Coroners’ Office and the Dublin District Mortuary have been increased through 2023 and 2024, which has seen the timeline for conducting postmortem examinations in the Dublin District Mortuary reduce significantly. The Dublin Coroner Service is also on target to conclude more inquests in 2024 than in any previous year.