‘Make it easier for families of missing persons to get help’

INFORMATION on unidentified and unclaimed bodies or body parts must be brought together in a central location, a senator has said.

Fine Gael’s Colm Burke has said that centralising such details would ease the burden on families as they search for their missing loved-ones.

He is working on a Presumption of Death Bill, which is going through the Oireachtas and would allow families to manage the affairs of those who are missing and presumed dead.

Senator Burke said the current system of storing such information locally makes the process more difficult for those involved as he said sharing the details is not co-ordinated on a wider scale.

This makes it more difficult for families to collect information about a missing loved one if such details arise in a location separate to that from where he or she vanished.

He said: ‘A lot of work is ongoing in the area of missing persons and there has been much discussion in the media recently in relation to identifying people’s remains.

‘I am firmly of the belief that we need to centralise information in respect of bodies or parts of bodies which have not been identified.

‘Currently this information is retained locally which doesn’t allow for adequate co-ordination of the sharing of this information.

‘This is problematic if a person goes missing in one part of the country and their remains are found in another part of the country.

‘A situation such as this is distressing enough for the family of a missing person. So it is incumbent on the State to streamline the process of identifying a person’s remains and to make it as pain free as possible for the family.’

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has asked agencies within his department to examine the proposal. Senator Burke said he was pleased with the minister’s move.

As the law stands, families of those who are missing are not able to obtain a death certificate for seven years after their lovedone has vanished.

This prevents them from being able to claim any assets the missing person may have.

In 2013 the Law Reform Commission published a report into the challenges faced by the families of people who are missing and highlighted the success of legislation in parts of the UK in giving control back to the families.

The LRC’s report advised that where a death had occurred, beyond reasonable doubt, a waiting period should not be in place before which a death could be certified. In Scotland, a person can be legally certified as dead after just three years if it is evident that the person has died.

The commission’s findings led Senator Burke to publish a Bill in 2014 aiming to ease the legal burden on the families of the missing.

Following the 2016 general election Senator Burke had the Bill republished and moved through the Seanad.

The Coroners Society of Ireland has backed the creation of the database of unclaimed bodies.

‘We must share information’