DISCUSSIONS are continuing between the Coroners' Association of Ireland and the Department of Justice on coroners remuneration. Earlier this week the coroners suspended a threatened strike because the Department conceded their right to indemnification.
However, they are continuing to pursue their claim for increased remuneration, based on a claim that the average coroner makes a loss of £4,684 a year, before his professional time is taken into account.
This figure is based on a report on coroners expenses and remuneration drawn up by business consultants Sean MacHale and Associates. It formed the basis for a submission on remuneration to the Department of Justice from the Coroners' Association of Ireland, a copy of which has been seen by The Irish Times.
Sean McHale and Associates conducted a survey of coroners work, conditions, expenditure and pay in 1994. They distributed a questionnaire to all 49 coroners in the State, 25 of whom replied.
A very wide variation was found between individual coroners in the proportion of time spent on State work, the size of their private practices as doctors or solicitors (all coroners are one or the other), the need for support services and the amount of travelling they did.
On average, coroners spend 5.5 hours a week on State work, out of a 43 hour working week. However, they must be available at all times to deal with reports of a sudden death.
While there is provision for a deputy coroner, no monetary allowance is made for one, and they have to be paid from the individual coroner's own resources. Payments to deputy coroners averaged out at £340 a year. (All figures are for 1994.)
Salaries paid to coroners range from £2,155 to £25,453, with the average being £3,314.10. This excludes coroners in the Dublin County Borough, who work much longer hours and are paid more. Their hourly rate therefore works out at £12.05, with no allowance for expenses.
The coroners surveyed specified that they needed office space and equipment, books and journals and a car, at an average annual cost of £3,924.
They also needed secretarial support for responding to inquiries and keeping records. It was stressed that such support needed to come from a mature person with interpersonal skills, given the need to deal with relatives of those who died suddenly in sometimes controversial circumstances. Part time secretarial support was costed at £1,952 a year.
The average number of miles travelled by coroners to carry out an inquest is 953 a year. Based on mileage allowances paid to semi State employees in a car of less that 1,387cc, the cost would be £549.88. Overheads and other expenses ranged from £84 to £2,631, averaging out at £1,197. This brought the average annual expenses to £7,962.55. This did not include any payment for the time spent conducting inquests and doing other work associated with the job. With payment averaging out at £3,314.10, this leaves the average coroner with a deficit of £4,684.45.