Coroners Bill 2015

Public bill · Private Member · Introduced

Sets out a new, modern system for investigating deaths in Ireland and creates a national Coroner Service to support coroners across the country. It would spell out when deaths must be reported, when a coroner must investigate, and when an inquest must be held, including deaths in custody, deaths of children in care, maternal deaths, suspicious or unexplained deaths, and deaths linked to accidents or medical treatment. It also gives coroners clearer powers to gather evidence, order post-mortems or exhumations, protect families’ rights to information, and issue a certificate allowing burial or cremation to go ahead while the investigation continues. Just as importantly, it aims to make the process more consistent, better resourced and more transparent, so that death investigations can help families, improve public safety and learn lessons to prevent similar deaths.

Formal long title

Bill entitled an Act to amend, consolidate and extend the law relating to coroners, coroners' investigations and coroners' inquests, to provide for the establishment of a body to be known as an tSeirbhís Chróinéara or, in the English language, the Coroner Service, to define its functions, to provide for certain transitional matters including the completion of inquests commenced under the Coroners Act 1962, the transfer of certain documents preserved under the Coroners Act 1962 to the Coroner Service and the continuance in use of certain forms under that Act, to repeal certain enactments and provisions of enactments, to amend certain enactments and to provide for related matters.

Last updated 19 February 2020