Coroners (Amendment) Act 2019

Amendment of section 6A of Principal Act

4. Section 6A of the Principal Act is amended by—

(a) the substitution of the following subsections for subsections (4) and (5):

“(4) The Minister shall make administrative and financial arrangements in respect of the coroner’s district of Dublin and that obligation shall be deemed to have come into operation on 1 January 2018 and sections 8 and 9 shall be deemed to have ceased to apply to that district with effect from that date.

(5) A person holding the office of coroner or deputy coroner in the coroner’s district of Dublin shall, in accordance with arrangements under subsection (4), be paid such salary as the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, from time to time determine.

(5A) The persons who immediately before the coming into operation of section 4 (a) of the Coroners (Amendment) Act 2019 held the offices of coroner and deputy coroner in the coroner’s district of Dublin shall, following such coming into operation, continue to hold such respective offices.”,

(b) the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (6):

“(6A) A coroner for the coroner’s district of Dublin shall be appointed by the Minister.

(6B) The Minister shall, before appointing a person to be a coroner for the coroner’s district of Dublin, satisfy himself or herself that the person possesses the requisite knowledge and ability for the proper discharge of the duties of that office.”,

and

(c) the addition of the following subsection after subsection (8):

“(9) During the illness or absence of the person designated under subsection (7) to be the senior coroner of the coroner’s district of Dublin, the Minister may designate another coroner appointed in respect of that district to perform the functions of the senior coroner of that district for any period during such illness or absence.”.