No coroners appointed in nearly two decades

A new government audit has discovered that local authorities are not appointing coroners due to uncertainty over their legal duties and legislation which has not yet been commenced.

A majority of local authorities told the government that they were not aware they were required to appoint coroners.

Others said they were waiting for the enactment of parts of the Coroners Bill 2007, which introduces key reforms.

There are presently 38 coroners across the State in 2015, the Local Government Audit Service found, with at least two coroners carrying out the role across more than one district.

The audit found that €11 million was spent on coroners’ services in 2015, around one-third of which was spent in Dublin alone.

Of this, retainers and fees to coroners made up €2.663 million of the total, up from €2.426 million in 2014 and €2.287 million in 2013.