The Office of the State Pathologist provides a national, year-round forensic pathology service here in Ireland, offering independent expert advice on matters relating to forensic pathology and performing post mortem examinations in criminal, suspicious or unusual deaths. State pathologists are often required to attend and give evidence in coronial, criminal or civil courts or sometimes to attend crime scenes.
The report notes the wide range of valuable work conducted by the Office throughout 2023, including 400 cases of which 48%, or 192, were State forensic cases.
Speaking on the team’s work in 2023, Professor Linda Mulligan said: “The Office of the State Pathologist collaborates with a huge number of stakeholders to ensure the highest standards of practice. In 2023, we reviewed our paper-based processes in line with the Department of Justice environmental policy and introduced paperless reporting to coroners. We also had important input into the development of the Human Tissue Act 2024, and we continue to work with the HSE, Faculty of Pathology, and the Department of Justice to support the reform of the coronial autopsy service.”
The team provides expert input to many boards and advisory groups, including the Autopsy Quality Improvement Committee, the HSE mortuary improvement programme, and the Faculty of Pathology RCPI. 2023 marked Professor Linda Mulligan’s third year as Chief State Pathologist. The Office enjoyed a full team for most of the year, with a Chief State Pathologist, two State Pathologists, two Deputy State Pathologists (one of whom departed in November 2023), and a locum State pathologist based in Cork.
Reflecting on 2023, Professor Linda Mulligan said: “The support and governance offered by the Department of Justice have allowed us to continue to expand and strengthen the work that we do. We will keep striving towards the highest standards of practice in forensic pathology, with the ultimate aim of providing the best possible service to bereaved families and loved ones across Ireland, as well as the Coroners, An Garda Síochána and the Courts.”
As already stated: During 2023, 400 cases were dealt with by the Office of the state Pathologist (this figure was 417 in 2022, 327 in 2021, 345 in 2020, 335 in 2019 and 286 in 2018). Of these 192, or 48%, were state forensic cases. Attendance at the scene of death was recorded in approximately 4% of cases. (This figure was 26 of 213 cases (12%) in 2022.) The Office, at the direction of the Dublin District Coroner, carried out 161 adult non-suspicious post mortem examinations. There were 36 cases of endoskeleton remains, 17 of which were documented as animal bones, 19 as human bones.
Note: The full 2023 Annual Report of the Office of the State Pathologist can be read HERE.
A Garda investigation is under way following the death of a woman whose body was discovered in Nenagh, North Co. Tipperary.
The body of the woman, named locally as Ms Joan Ray, and understood to be aged in her 80s, was located at a residence in St Joseph’s Park, Nenagh, on Sunday afternoon last. The woman’s body was removed to University Hospital Limerick, where a post-mortem examination was carried out yesterday; the results of which are not being released for operational reasons.
A senior Garda investigating officer has been appointed to further investigate all the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death.
An appeal for information has also been requested, with Gardaí looking to speak to anyone who was in the St Joseph’s Park area of Nenagh, between the hours of 8:00pm on Saturday August 3rd, and midday on Sunday August 4th.
Gardaí are also appealing to motorists with dashcam footage, to make contact. Any person with information is asked to contact Nenagh Garda Station at TEL. 067-50450, the Garda Confidential Line on TEL. 1800 666 111 or indeed any Garda station.
Limerick is the second location to trial Body Worn Cameras following their introduction in Dublin in early June, which saw an overall positive reaction from the public, as to their necessary use.
Garda Body Worn Cameras.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, today launched the Body Worn Cameras proof of concept at Henry Street Garda station in Limerick city. Limerick is the just the second of three pilot locations to test the use of Garda Body Worn Cameras (BWCs) before a national rollout.
The Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Act 2023 was signed into law just last December. The Act provides for Body Worn Cameras, Garda CCTV, automatic number plate recognition, and Community CCTV.
An Garda Síochána is undertaking three phased introductions as part of its proof of concepts stage. Three vendors have been chosen with different BWCs to be deployed in each trial location. The cameras in use in the DMR and Limerick are from different manufacturers.
The pilot roll-out of BWCs will continue later this year in Waterford. When complete, the three-phased pilot will inform their introduction in Garda Stations nationwide.
Each BWC can record footage to its own internal encrypted storage, which will be uploaded when the Garda docks the camera in a Garda station. The camera footage is uploaded at the end of a shift so it can be used as evidence at court or is deleted after an agreed time, if it is not required as evidence. All of the digital imagery collected by BWCs will be managed by a Digital Evidence Management System (DEMS).
Commissioner Harris also warned Garda members that they will face dismissal from the force, and potential criminal prosecution, if they are found to have shared or leaked footage of incidents captured on Garda BWCs.
A 22-year-old male admitted raping a 13-year-old girl and falsely imprisoning her 16-year-old friend, having driven both teenage girls to buy cannabis in Co Tipperary on June 22nd of last year.
Both girls had been looking for a lift, and the man said he would take them “to collect weed”. Having collected the cannabis, the man drove the victims to a dark and secluded carpark area and raped the younger girl, while the other girl remained locked in his car. He returned to the car some 15 minutes later and drove the girls to where they were staying.
The court learned that the man knew the girls age as he was already friends with her cousin. Ms Justice Karen O’Connor said that the huge age disparity between the accused and the 13-year-old minor was an aggravating factor in the offence, along with the fact that he had driven both girls to obtain drugs.
The accused was already on bail for the defilement of another teenager at the time he carried out the rape and false imprisonment. Ms Justice O’Connor said that the offences now represent both a repetition and an escalation of his previous sexual offending. The court also heard that his previous sentence of five years, with two years suspended, has now been activated and same must be served prior to this new 7 year sentence could take effect.
Ms Justice O’Connor further ordered that the accused remain abstinent from alcohol and all illicit drugs; attend mental health services, and engage with all treatment programmes and offence-focused work, as directed by the probation services, by Túsla and by An Garda Síochána. She further directed that he undergo supervision by the probation services, for a further three years following his prison release, and that his name be placed on the ‘Sex Offenders’ Register.
Robust, fair and proportionate legislation will meet the challenges of an increasingly complex media landscape.
Abolition of juries in High Court defamation actions will reduce disproportionate and unpredictable awards.
Protections against SLAPP proceedings, which are recognised internationally as a threat to press freedom and democracy.
Range of provisions to support agreed resolution of defamation cases and reduce high legal costs.
The Irish Government have granted approval to publish the Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024. The full text of the Bill will be published on the website of the Houses of the Oireachtas next week.
The Bill provides for a range of reforms to address concerns raised by stakeholders during the public consultation on review of the Defamation Act 2009. Its publication marks significant progress on the Programme for Government commitment to review and reform Irish defamation laws.
The main purposes of the Bill are to:
Tackle disproportionate awards, and support more consistent, proportionate and predictable redress in defamation cases, including the abolition of juries in High Court defamation cases.
Support easier access to justice for individuals whose reputations are unfairly attacked.
Provide that, if a person is defamed, the correction must be the same or similar prominence to the defamatory publication.
Provide enhanced and clearer protection for responsible public interest journalism.
Reduce legal costs and delays for all parties, by supporting the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and by measures to encourage prompt correction and apology, where mistakes are made.
Deter abusive use of unfounded defamation proceedings, particularly SLAPPs*.
*SLAPPs are unfounded and abusive legal actions that aim to silence those working in the public interest on matters such as fundamental rights, the environment, and public access to information.
Several further key reforms are being finalised, during the Bill’s passage through the Oireachtas. These include the clearer and simpler defence of fair and reasonable publication in the public interest, which is particularly important to protect responsible public interest journalism. They also include a statutory power for the Circuit Court to issue a ‘Norwich Pharmacal’* order, directing a digital services provider to identify an anonymous poster of defamatory online material, thus significantly reducing the legal costs for a person subjected to such comments. Work on a power for the courts to award damages for harm suffered by a person targeted by SLAPP proceedings is already in the pipeline.
* A Norwich Pharmacal order is an order made by the court which compels the respondent to disclose certain information or documents to the applicant. This form of order is primarily sought as a means of identifying the appropriate defendant to an action. It is commonly sought against an innocent intermediary who, although not directly involved in the offending activity, holds information or documentation required for the issuing of proceedings.
The Bill will introduce a new statutory defence in ‘retail defamation’ cases, which is in response to stakeholder concerns about a large recent increase in claims of verbal defamation made against retail businesses, particularly against SMEs.
The Circuit Court has repeatedly held that it is not defamatory, for example, simply to ask a person who walks past the checkout to leave the shop with goods, to produce a receipt for them; or to explain that a banknote cannot be accepted in payment, if it does not seem to be legal tender. Nevertheless, defamation claims in such cases are now generating significant extra legal and insurance costs for these businesses.
The Bill addresses the problem by providing a new statutory defence for the retailer, which builds on the defence of qualified privilege. The new defence does not apply if the retailer is acting with malice, or if the retailer’s comments are publicised excessively, when discretion could have been used.
The Bill gives effect to the General Scheme for a Defamation Amendment Bill which was approved and published by Government on 28th March 2023. It responds to the Report of the Review of the Defamation Act, published in March 2022, which was informed by an extensive public consultation.
The Bill also takes account of the pre legislative scrutiny report on the General Scheme, published by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice on 27 th September 2023.
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