38A.—Whenever a coroner is satisfied that a person who may be summoned to give evidence or to produce a document, article, substance or thing relevant to an inquest is likely to be absent from the State during the conduct of the inquest, he or she may direct that the evidence of that person be taken or the document, article, substance or thing be produced before him or her, at any time before the inquest, in the same manner as the evidence would be taken or the document, article, substance or thing would be produced at the inquest.]