State Laboratory: 10 more chemists needed to tackle toxicology results backlog 

There are currently 25 staff members working in the toxicology section of the State Laboratory, working on samples forwarded for analysis by the country’s coroners or pathologists. Picture: Julien Behal

A further 10 chemist staff are required at the State Laboratory to tackle the backlog in toxicology results, according to the facility.

The Irish Examiner revealed on Saturday that coroners across the country have been informed by the State Laboratory that the turnaround time for toxicology results has been increased to 160 days “as we will not have sufficient resources in place to service the current increase in the short to medium term”.