Changes planned for the State pathology service would lead to a more efficient and speedy response to cases of suspicious death, Dr John Harbison said yesterday. The State pathologist said he hoped to have a full-time deputy appointed within months, while a move to "bigger and better facilities" in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, had also been promised.
Confirmation that a deputy State pathologist is to be appointed soon was given yesterday by the Department of Justice, following a warning by Dr Harbison that his backlog of work was so great that a number of murder cases could collapse if he were to die.
A Department spokeswoman said the decision to appoint a deputy to Dr Harbison followed a meeting he had recently with the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue.
Dr Harbison said yesterday people should not think Ireland was lacking in modern facilities. Investigation facilities at Beaumont Hospital and the State laboratory, and in the DNA section of the forensic science laboratory were "very much state of the art".
Speaking on RTE Radio, Dr Harbison said he had a full-time laboratory, but it was in a very old building, and very cramped; and he was "very grateful to the Government" which had made financial provision for a bigger and better one in a much better location - Beaumont Hospital.
This meant he would have ready access to his pathology colleagues, particularly those in neuro-pathology who dealt with head injury cases and could advise him on difficult ones.
He said the move would inevitably assist with solving crimes, because people worked better and more efficiently in new premises.
Dr Harbison also called for doctors around the country to be trained in assisting the Garda, not only in cases of suspicious death, but also in the examination of victims of assault. He said the interpretation of these could be very important to the subsequent trial.
He also said he hoped to widen the role of the State pathology service, which currently dealt only with cases of murder, suspicious deaths, occasionally unidentified bodies and prison deaths. Standard post-mortem examinations, dealing with suicides, road traffic victims and sudden, unexpected deaths, amounted to about 4,000 deaths a year. The maximum he could currently deal with was about 80.
