Justice committee urged to address reform of coroner's courts system
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The Oireachtas justice committee will be asked in the coming days to put reform of the coroner's courts on the agenda for this year.
The call is being made by Sinn Féin’s justice spokesman Martin Kenny following pleas by families in last Saturday’s for inquest recommendations to be legally enforceable.
He said it is a “grave issue that recommendations are only recommendations and very often go nowhere”.
He will pursue it at the justice committee.
“The justice committee does a lot of work with legislation that is coming through but we also have a lot of work that we want to do about issues of public concern that need to be looked at. This is one,” said Mr Kenny.
He is hopeful that it will be on the work programme for this year, with a view to having contributions from different bodies in relation to inquests.
Mr Kenny said that there needs to be a wider overhaul of the coronial process.
“In some places, the coroner is a doctor; in other places, the coroner is a solicitor. It is very ad hoc.”
He knows of one retired man who has been on a coroner’s jury up to 10 times.
“There needs to be reform of the system. At the moment, the coroners system is connected to county councils.
He said that families have raised the issue with him on a number of occasions, particularly relating to road accidents and suicides.
In relation to suicides, he said that recommendations regularly made regarding mental health care are very important.
He said he raised the issue of reform of the coronial system at the justice committee with Justice Minister Helen McEntee in recent weeks.
A spokesman for the Department of Justice said that recommendations made at inquests by a coroner or a jury with the aim of "preventing further fatalities or on the basis of public health or safety” are addressed to the relevant authorities.
“The implementation of any recommendations and follow up actions is a matter for the relevant authority. The Coroners Acts, as amended, do not impose a statutory duty in respect of such recommendations made at an inquest,” he said.
Last April, a report commissioned by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties on the coronial system in Ireland was published. The document, called Left Out in the Cold, highlighted the need for reform of the system, including around the recommendations made at inquests.
“Families’ lawyers were concerned that critical verdicts, accompanied by recommendations for changes in institutional policies and/or practices, were not reviewed to establish their efficacy,” said the report.
A solicitor interviewed for the report said that recommendations “are not legally binding, they are just recommendations, they are usually just a soundbite for the media and nothing else”.
It recommended that the failure to follow up on recommendations made at inquests for reform in policy and practice of various bodies must be addressed.
“Inquest recommendations are made with the intention of preventing recurrence of death in similar circumstances.”
The report said that the follow-up to ensure recommendations are enacted remains deficient, adding that it leaves bereaved families and their legal representatives concerned that lessons arising from inquests are not learnt.