New model for coroner service will be brought to Government in 2025

In response to a parliamentary question published in recent days, then minister for justice Helen McEntee said: 'Officials will, over the coming months, work closely with relevant stakeholders, with the intention of bringing heads of Bill to Government in 2025, along with a fully costed model for a reformed coroner service.' Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

A new model for the coroner service is being costed and will be brought to Government this year.

The initiative is part of an overall reform agenda of the service, which will also include new legislation which will establish a new independent Chief Coroner’s office.

The heads of bill are to be finalised in the coming months, before being brought to the Government. The move to reform the coronial service follows a number of reports seeking such measures in the past two decades.

More recently, in 2021, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) published a report called 'Out in the Cold', which called for "root and branch" reform of the coronial process, including the avoidance of unacceptable delays.

In 2023, a report published by the Oireachtas Committee on Justice recommended a raft of changes to the coronial system, including the appointment of a chief coroner and deputy chief coroner.

The committee’s report was subsequently submitted to the Department of Justice’s consultation on the coroner's service, which led to the publication in October of a report on the public consultation on reform of the coroner service.

Cabinet approval to draft the general scheme of a Bill to reform the coroner service has also been granted. The legislation is expected to be brought to government this year.

Among the reforms included in the legislation are:

• Establishment of an independent Office of the Chief Coroner, who will be responsible for setting standards, providing guidance and overseeing the activities of full-time salaried coroners, 
• A model in line with best practice internationally enhancing the support available for families and friends of the bereaved throughout the death investigation process reform of the current approach for the provision of coroner-directed autopsies, 
• To ensure that families across Ireland have equal access to pathology services and do not experience unnecessary delays reviewing the number of ‘reportable deaths’ that are required to be reported to a Coroner. 

Ireland currently reports significantly more deaths than comparable jurisdictions and consequently has cause to investigate many more deaths than might otherwise be required. 

In response to a recent parliamentary question, published in recent days, then Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said: “Department of Justice officials will, over the coming months, work closely with relevant stakeholders, with the intention of bringing heads of Bill to Government in 2025, along with a fully costed model for a reformed coroner service which will address all aspects of the coroner service.” 

She said that a restructured and modernised coronial service “will drive consistency and will assist coroners to better meet the needs of bereaved people through the provision of enhanced ICT, administrative and family liaison supports”.