Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-30
============================================================

Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

Securing the provision of a post-mortem examination service for the coronial death investigation function has proved challenging. The Ministers for justice and Health have engaged on the issue. The short-term solution in operation at University Hospital Waterford is one in which locum pathologists provide coroner services three days per week. This is obviously necessary to minimise any impact on bereaved family members who would otherwise experience lengthy wait times for the release of remains. Officials from the Department of justice are working on drafting the heads of a Bill to significantly reform the coroner service. A more sustainable solution is required than a locum service. I will talk to both Ministers in respect of this issue, as I already have. There are also issues within the pathology profession, including with training and recruitment, as well as competing demands on pathologists in areas of diagnostic and research work.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-30