3271. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Health the policy framework within which coroners operate, having regard to the practice of retaining organs following the conduct of a post-mortem examination; whether there are standardised procedures in place for communicating with next of kin in relation to such organ retention; whether it is a clear requirement for coroners to communicate with the next of kin immediately following a post-mortem where an organ is to be retained; whether she is satisfied that next of kin are always dealt with in an appropriately sensitive manner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55501/26]

Deputy, the Department of Health has no responsibility in this area as the Coroner is independent. We would also like to add that Coroners are governed by the Coroners Acts 1962 to 2024, which comes under the remit of the Department of Justice.