THE Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, is examining a report from the Chief State Pathologist, Prof John Harbison, in which he calls for more resources and says the State Pathologist's Office is being shunted between the Departments of Health and Justice.
Prof Harbison, who carries out at the scene examinations and subsequent post mortems on the bodies of people who may have suffered violent deaths, has told the Minister he is `battle weary'.
The Minister is also considering a proposal from the acting Deputy State Pathologist, Dr Margot Bolster, that the conditions surrounding her employment be changed.
On May 14th last, Dr Bolster sent a letter of resignation to the Department of Justice, to take effect from June 16th.
However, she subsequently met an official from the Department, made a proposal concerning her conditions of employment and said she would remain in position while her proposal was being considered.
Dr Bolster was appointed acting Deputy State Pathologist in June last year. The agreement was that she would hold the position pending a permanent appointment by the Civil Service Commission.
The position of Deputy State Pathologist is a new post created last year. It is understood that Prof Harbison wants a deputy who will work with him in Dublin, while Dr Bolster wants to be based in Cork, and operate in the Munster region.
Prof Harbison's is understood to have expressed the view that it was "highly undesirable" that Dr Bolster's expertise could be lost to the State. Dr Bolster is a lecturer in forensic medicine in University College Cork.
Prof Harbison's report said the State Pathology Office was under manned and overwhelmed. Its laboratory did not have the necessary equipment.
Prof Harbinson, it is understood, also complained that his office had been shunted between the Departments of Health and Justice and was in an "administrative vacuum".
The office "needs but lacks the political backing of a major Government Department for its future planning and development", he said. "It appears at the moment to be just an awkward file".
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said the State Pathologist's Office was under contract to the Attorney General's office, and paid for by the Director of Public Prosecutions' office.
Recruitment into forensic pathology could be impossible in this country, Prof Harbison wrote in his report. "There is no trainee post here, nor is any Irish national known to be in training anywhere."
