13A.—(1) Notwithstanding subsection (3) of section 13, the Minister may, upon a request in writing in that behalf from a coroner for the coroner’s district of Dublin, authorise a deputy coroner appointed by that coroner to act for that coroner—

(a) during a period, specified in the authorisation, that ends no later than 2 years from the commencement of section 8 of the Coroners (Amendment) Act 2019, and

(b) in any circumstances (not limited to the circumstances specified in that subsection),

for the purpose of increasing the number and progress of inquiries into deaths under this Act in that district during that period.

(2) A deputy coroner for the coroner’s district of Dublin who is authorised under subsection (1) to act for a coroner for that district shall, for the period while the authorisation is in force, have all the powers and duties of the coroner for that district and he or she shall be paid in respect of that period such salary as the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, determine.]