Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. He is welcome to the House. I would like to discuss an issue about which a number of grieving families have contacted me recently. It is the delay in their ability to hold the funerals of their loved ones due to a hold-up in carrying out post mortems in a number of counties throughout the country. The problem can become even more acute at weekends and on bank holidays. As I am sure the Minister of State can appreciate, the delays in getting loved ones returned to them add another layer of hardship on families who have just lost loved ones. Several hospitals across the country no longer provide the service due to a shortage of pathologists and the demand of daily diagnostic services.

I understand that approximately 6,000 post mortems are carried out annually in this country. They are ordered after a sudden, unexplained, violent or unnatural death. The service is reliant on consultant pathologists, who are employed in hospitals to step in to undertake coroner-directed post mortems, but a growing number of pathologists are opting out of the service for various reasons, including their own hospital workload, which does not allow them the time to opt in, adversarial legal questioning at inquests, and a fee of approximately €320, which has not changed for over 20 years.

A critical lack of pathologists nationwide has forced a reliance on locum doctors, some of whom are being flown in from the UK to manage the workload at a substantially higher cost and a higher fee than Irish-based specialists would expect to get for carrying out the procedure.

I understand there are clear recruitment challenges for the Office of the State Pathologist, with unsuccessful competitions for senior positions, despite increased demand from the criminal justice system. It would appear that we have a problem in certain parts of the country. I fully understand that this is not an issue in many parts of the country, but in some it has become a bigger issue. It is, unfortunately, down to a lack of pathologists able to do the job.

It is an issue that needs to be addressed. When families are grieving a loved one, they are in an emotional state to begin with. If there is delay in the family getting the loved one's remains back for the wake and funeral, it adds another layer to a very vulnerable family. I hope the Minister of State will be able to outline to me what plans the Government has to address the shortage of pathologists, which seems to be very acute in certain parts of the country.

On behalf of the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. At the outset, it is important to note that coroners are independent office holders whose core function is to investigate sudden and unexplained deaths so that a death certificate can be issued.

While the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, recognises the significance and sensitivity of the coronial investigation process for loved ones of the bereaved, neither the Minister nor his Department can interfere with a coroner in the exercise of his or her statutory death investigation function. It is important to clarify that pathologists, other than forensic pathologists in the Office of the State Pathologist, are not contracted to either the Department or to coroners.

I am aware that securing the provision of the post-mortem examination service for the coronial death investigation function is challenging and the Minister has been engaging with the Minister for Health to address the reasons behind these challenges. There are issues arising with respect to the conduct of port-mortem examinations within the pathology profession generally, including relating to training and recruitment as well as competing demands on pathologists in areas of diagnostic and research work.

With this in mind, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration in April 2022 established a standing committee on the provision of coroner-directed post-mortem examination services, membership of which consists of representatives from the Department of Health; the Health Service Executive; the Office of the State Pathologist, the Coroners Society of Ireland; the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; the Faculty of Pathology, Royal College of Physicians Ireland; and the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. This standing committee is an important forum with appropriate membership to discuss issues in relation to the autopsy service.

In November 2024, University Hospital Waterford, UHW, advised the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration that it would discontinue its post-mortem examination service to coroners from 1 January 2026. Approximately 700 coroner-directed post-mortem examinations take place in University Hospital Waterford each year. Coroner-directed post-mortem examinations for counties Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny and Carlow and part of County Tipperary are carried out in UHW. The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration is conscious that the situation in UHW reached a critical juncture in January this year when pathologists employed at that location indicated that they were no longer available to carry out post-mortem examinations.

The Department engaged with a number of firms proposing to supply locums to provide the autopsy service in UHW and has finalised an interim approach on this basis. Provision of this service commenced on 2 January. This approach is a necessity to minimise any impact on bereaved family members who are engaging with the Coroner Service. However, a long-term sustainable solution is nevertheless required whereby locum pathologists are not relied upon to provide the autopsy service and instead this important service to the community is provided from within the pathology profession in Ireland generally.

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response. I welcome the fact that a standing committee is looking at this issue to address the areas where a shortfall in the service exists. It is a very emotional and sensitive time for families and it is important that the State does all it can to ensure that the delay in conducting post-mortems is addressed as a matter of urgency. I am happy that all the relevant stakeholders are getting together to ensure an adequate service is available regardless of which part of the country one hails from.

It is important to note that policy and operational responsibilities for the provision of post-mortem examination services to support the work of the Coroner Service are supported by several Departments and agencies.

The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration is responsible for the legislation underpinning the work of coroners while the provision of post-mortem examination services is largely provided through health service personnel. In October 2024, following a wide-ranging consultation, the Government approved the drafting of a general scheme of a Bill to reform the provision of the coronial services in Ireland. Officials of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration are currently working on drafting heads of Bill in this regard. The legislation intends to streamline and reform the existing coronial service with a view to increasing efficiencies in the service and minimising the impact of the death investigation experience on the bereaved. A central aspect of this is the establishment of a national coronial agency under the aegis of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.