The country’s coroners have said that their service is now at a crisis point. At its annual conference in Sligo, the Coroners Association has expressed serious concerns at under-funding and understaffing of the service. Spokesperson Dr Denis Cusach said that coroners try to provide a caring and sensitive service for people concerned with tragic deaths. However, he said that they are faced with delays in drug analysis, lack of pathology services and an outdated law. Coroners carry out up to 1,700 inquests a year, but many of these are delayed often by six months to a year. The service also needs to be in a position to provide better information for the public, up 10,000 of whom may come in contact with the service every year, he said.
