Review to recommend creation of top coroner roles to oversee inquests service

Cork City Coroner Philip Comyn had recently raised the issue of resourcing of the service during an inquest in the city. File picture: Dan Linehan

A significant overhaul of the system for holding inquests into unnatural deaths is being sought ahead of the publication of an Oireachtas report on the coroner's service.

The Oireachtas Justice Committee's examination of the coroner’s service in Ireland is expected to recommend measures in early 2023 to ensure a more consistent approach by coroners in reaching verdicts at inquests. 

The committee will also recommend the establishment of a Chief Coroner and Deputy Chief Coroner to head up and oversee the service.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has highlighted the need for reform, citing the fact that recommendations made at inquests are rarely implemented or followed up. 

It said that critical verdicts, accompanied by recommendations for changes to be introduced to institutional policies, were not reviewed to establish their efficacy.

Resourcing of the service is also a concern, with Cork City Coroner Philip Comyn raising the issue during an inquest in Cork. He also wrote to Cork City Council to highlight his concerns about the staffing of his office.

Delays in holding inquests — sometimes of more than two years — have been raised in the Dáil, with families saying their anguish has been unnecessarily prolonged. 

Liam Herrick, executive director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, said: “In our view, there is clearly a compelling case for a proper national coronial system which is properly resourced, sets very clear standards, and achieves levels of transparency that the current system can’t deliver. It is a question of political priority.” 

Family requests

In recent months, families have contacted the Department of Justice seeking to have inquests into the deaths of loved ones re-opened.

Correspondence released to the Irish Examiner through the Freedom of Information Act has outlined how a family pleaded with the Department of Justice in May to investigate how their brother's death was handled in the coroner's court.

The family said they have been denied full documentation relating to the inquest despite contacting the former coroner, current coroner, gardaí, and court registrar in their area. They want an independent investigation.

“We cannot rest until we know the true events that transpired at the time of our brother’s death and if there was anything that contributed to his death or that should have been done to prevent his untimely passing," the family wrote.

In response, Minister Helen McEntee’s private secretary, Emma McHugh, said the Department of Justice does not have a role in directing the work of coroners or in individual death investigation cases.

Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny, who is a member of the Oireachtas Justice Committee, said there needs to be recourse for families when they feel they did not get satisfaction from an inquest outcome. He has called for an appeals process to be implemented for families.