Coroners should be able to investigate the circumstances surrounding a death rather than be confined to establishing the medical or most likely cause of it, a report on the Coroner Service has recommended.
The report said legislation covering this area had remained unchanged for almost 40 years, and it had discussed the "radical reform" necessary in one of the oldest public services.
The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, said the Government would approve the legislation based on the report.
It recommended the introduction of "coroners' rules", based on statutory regulations with coroners themselves developing best-practice guidelines in areas where discretion is needed.
Some measures relating to compellability of witnesses may have to be introduced in advance of the new legislation, it said.
The group said the introduction of coroners' officers at regional level was crucial for those traumatised by sudden death.
The report called for the rationalisation of the number of coroners in the interests of "an efficient and cost-effective coroner service".
It said that in view of the controversy relating to the retention of organs and body parts, which emerged during its deliberations, it had decided to extend its timescale to consider this "difficult and sensitive" issue.
It pointed out the difference between post-mortems carried out on the instruction of the coroner and those carried out for other reasons.
Consent is not required for coroner post-mortems, "but there is an absolute requirement to give the bereaved the right to make choices regarding how, when and if they wish to be informed about the retention of organs and body parts".
It said the circumstances and procedures for the removal, retention and disposition of organs and body parts in post-mortems directed by the coroner should be put on a statutory basis.