New legislation will see a significant increase in the penalties faced by those who fail to appear as a witness at an inquest.
The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, has instructed his officials to prepare a general scheme of a Bill for Government approval that would amend certain sections of the 1962 Coroners Act.
The proposed Bill is seen by the Minister as vital in assuring the public of the continuing high quality of the coroner's service, and is the first element in an overall reform and modernisation package.
A Department spokesman has confirmed that one of the areas being looked at for the proposed Coroners (Amendment) Bill is the compellability of witnesses and documents at inquests.
"It is proposed to significantly increase the penalty, on summary conviction, for the offence of failure to respond to a summons to appear as a witness at an inquest. It is also planned to provide the coroner with powers to apply to the High Court for an order compelling witness attendance and document production."
The development has been welcomed by the Fine Gael spokesperson on justice, Mr John Deasy, who said the system whereby what he termed a "token" fine of €6.35 is imposed on those who fail to appear at inquests is causing widespread disruption throughout the country. "There is currently no way a person can be compelled to attend as a witness at a coroner's court hearing.
"If witnesses do not appear they cause delays to cases that can be excruciating for the family and friends of the deceased who are awaiting an outcome.
"This also increases the already heavy workload in the coroner's courts, with files piling up that have yet to be dealt with," he said.