S.I. No. 145/1963 - Coroners Act, 1962 (Fees and Expenses) Regulations, 1963.

S.I. No. 145 of 1963.

CORONERS ACT, 1962 (FEES AND EXPENSES) REGULATIONS, 1963.

I, CHARLES J. HAUGHEY, Minister for Justice, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by subsection (1) of section 3 of the Coroners Act, 1962 (No. 9 of 1962), after, in relation to the fees and expenses to be prescribed under section 57 of that Act, consultation with the Minister for Local Government, hereby make the following Regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Coroners Act, 1962 (Fees and Expenses) Regulations, 1963.

(2) These Regulations shall be deemed to have been made on the 1st day of January, 1963.

2. In these Regulations "the Act" means the Coroners Act, 1962 (No. 9 of 1962).

3. The fee to be paid to a coroner who holds an inquest by virtue of section 20 of the Act or to a coroner, other than the coroner who would ordinarily hold the inquest, who holds an inquest by virtue of section 24 of the Act shall be three pounds and three shillings.

4. (1) The fee chargeable by a coroner or a county registrar for furnishing a copy of any document to an applicant under section 29 of the Act shall be—

(a) in the case of a coroner, ten shillings and six pence for each document, subject to a maximum charge of three pounds and three shillings in respect of all documents furnished relating to any one inquest; and

(b) in the case of a county registrar, the fee payable in respect of documents supplied by Circuit Court Offices (referred to at No. 8 of Part I of the Schedule to the Circuit Court (Fees) Order, 1956 ( S.I. No. 249 of 1956 )).

(2) The Minister may, in an exceptional case, authorise a coroner to make a maximum charge greater than that chargeable under subparagraph (a) of paragraph (1) of this Regulation.

5. The fees and expenses to be prescribed under section 57 of the Act in respect of post-mortem and special examinations, the attendance of witnesses at inquests and the removal or custody of a body shall be those specified in the Schedule to these Regulations.

6. The Coroners Act, 1962 (Fees and Expenses) Regulations, 1962 ( S.I. No. 92 of 1962 ), are hereby revoked.

SCHEDULE.

FEES.

1. The fees payable for post-mortem examinations and special examinations shall be—

(1) for a full post-mortem examination under section 19 (1) or section 33 (1) of the Act, £6 6s.;

(2) for a post-mortem examination under the said sections consisting of an external examination only, £3 3s.;

(3) for a post-mortem examination arranged under section 33 (2) of The Act (not being on a body that has been exhumed), £22 10s.;

(4) for a post-mortem examination arranged under section 33 (2) of the Act on a body that has been exhumed—

(a) if conducted in the period which commenced on the 1st day of July, 1962, and ended on the 31st day of December, 1962, £31 10s.;

(b) if conducted on or after the 1st day of January, 1963, £33 15s.;

(5) for assisting at a post-mortem examination—

(a) to a registered medical practitioner, £3 3s.;

(b) to a lay person, £l;

(6) for a special examination arranged under section 33 (2) of the Act, £1 15s. for each hour or part of an hour taken to conduct the examination.

2. The fees payable to a person who conducted a post-mortem examination arranged under section 33 (2) of the Act for his attendance at the inquest in relation to which he conducted the examination shall, where the inquest is held on a day other than the day of the examination, be—

(1) where the inquest is held within 20 miles from his home—

(a) for one inquest, £9 9s.,

(b) for two or more inquests on the same day, £14 3s. 6d.;

(2) where he attends two inquests on the same day, one inquest being held within 20 miles from his home and the other 20 miles or more from his home, £18 18s.;

(3) where the inquest is held 20 miles or more from his home—

(a) for one inquest, £14 3s. 6d.,

(b) for more than one inquest at the same place on the same day, £18 18s.,

(c) for one inquest in one place and one inquest in another place on the same day, £22 11s. 6d.;

(4) where the inquest was held in the period which commenced on the 1st day of July, 1962, and ended on the 31st day of December, 1962, and the circumstances specified in subparagraph (1), (2) or (3) of this paragraph obtained, in lieu of £9 9s., £14 3s. 6d., £18 18s., and £22 11s. 6d. the following fees, respectively, £8 8s., £12 12s., £16 16s, and £19 19s.

3. The fees payable to a person who conducted a post-mortem examination arranged under section 33 (2) of the Act for his attendance at the inquest in relation to which he conducted the examination shall, where the inquest is held on the day of the examination, be—

(1) where the inquest is held within 20 miles from his home, £4 14s. 6d.,

(2) where the inquest is held 20 miles or more from his home, £7 1s. 9d.

EXPENSES.

4. The expenses payable to a registered medical practitioner (other than a person appointed under section 33 (2) of the Act) for his attendance at an inquest in his professional capacity shall be—

(1) where the inquest is held within five miles from his home, and he is absent from home for—

(a) not more than two hours, £2 5s.,

(b) more than two hours but not more than three hours, £3 3s.,

(c) more than three hours, £4 14s. 6d.;

(2) where the inquest is held five miles or more from his home and he is absent from home for—

(a) not more than two hours, £3 3s.,

(b) more than two hours but not more than four hours, £4 4s.,

(c) more than four hours, £6 6s.;

(3) where he attends more than one inquest on the same day in addition to the appropriate amount specified in subparagraph (1) or (2) of this paragraph, £1 11s. 6d. in respect of each additional inquest attended;

(4) where the inquest is held more than five miles from his home, first class. rail fare or a mileage rate of 9d. together with a subsistence allowance at the highest rate applying to a person holding a position in the Civil Service of the State.

5. The expenses payable to a person who conducts a post-mortem examination arranged under section 33 (2) of the Act for his attendance for the examination (and also for his attendance at the inquest, if there is one and it is held on a day other than that on which the examination was conducted) shall, with effect from the 1st day of July, 1962, be subsistence and travelling expenses at the highest rate applying to a person holding a position in the Civil Service of the State.

6. The expenses payable to witnesses at inquests (other than a registered medical practitioner attending in his professional capacity) shall be as follows:

Allowance for loss of time:

Allowance payable where the period of necessary absence from employment or business (or from home in the case of category (c)) is four hours or more:

Half the allowance as above is payable where the period of necessary absence is less than four hours.

Actual loss of wages or salary, if greater than the amount of allowance payable as above, may be recouped in lieu thereof on production of a certificate from the employer as to the witness's wages or salary and the actual sum he has permanently lost by reason of attendance.

7. Subsistence allowances.

(a) Day allowance (6 a.m.-8 p.m.).

Where period of necessary absence from home or employment or business is five hours or more, 8s. 6d.

Where period of necessary absence from home or employment or business is 2 hours or more but less than five hours, 5s.

Where period of necessary absence from home or employment or business is less than two hours, nil.

(b) Night allowance (8 p.m.-6 a.m.), 17s. 6d.

The night allowance is payable only in respect of unavoidable overnight absence from usual place of residence.

An allowance under paragraph 6 or this paragraph will not be payable in respect of more than one case on the same day.

8. Travelling expenses.

Third-class rail fare or bus fare. Payment may, however, be made at whichever of the following rates is applicable in respect of any part of the journey where public transport was not reasonably practicable—

9. The expenses payable in connection with the removal or custody of a body shall be those which, in the opinion of the appropriate local authority, are necessarily and reasonably incurred in such removal or custody in accordance with the direction of a coroner.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 25th day of July, 1963.

CHARLES J. HAUGHEY,

Minister for Justice.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These regulations prescribe various fees and expenses for the purposes of the Coroners Act, 1962 , viz. the fee to be paid to a coroner who holds an inquest outside his own district; the fee chargeable by a coroner or a county registrar for furnishing copies of inquest documents; and the fees and expenses payable in respect of post-mortem and special examinations, the attendance of witnesses at inquests and the removal or custody of a body.

These Regulations replace the Coroners Act, 1962 (Fees and Expenses) Regulations, 1962 ( S.I. No. 92 of 1962 ).