60. (1) Where an inquest in relation to the death of a person is to be held under Part III of this Act, a family member of the deceased (in this section referred to as "the applicant") may apply to the coroner for a request to be submitted by that coroner to the Legal Aid Board in relation to the granting of legal aid or legal advice, or both, to the applicant pursuant to the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995.

(2) An application referred to in subsection (1) shall be made before the commencement of the inquest, unless the coroner otherwise permits.

(3) A coroner shall determine an application referred to in subsection (1) and shall notify the applicant of his or her determination within 10 working days of the receipt of the application.

(4) Subject to subsections (5) and (6), where a coroner receives an application referred to in subsection (1) in respect of an inquest, he or she shall request the Legal Aid Board to grant legal aid or legal advice, or both, to the applicant in respect of the inquest concerned.

(5) A coroner shall not make a request referred to in subsection (4) unless—

(a) the deceased was, at the time of his or her death or immediately before his or her death, in the custody of the Garda Síochána,

(b) the deceased was, at the time of his or her death or immediately before his or her death, in custody in a prison F85[…],

(c) the deceased was, at the time of his or her death or immediately before his or her death, in service custody F86[…],

(d) the deceased was, at the time of his or her death or immediately before his or her death, involuntarily detained under Part 2 of the Mental Health Act 2001 in an approved centre within the meaning of section 2 of that Act,

(e) the deceased was, at the time of his or her death or immediately before his or her death, detained in a designated centre within the meaning of section 3 of the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 or was a person to whom section 20 of that Act refers,

(f) the deceased was, at the time of his or her death or immediately before his or her death, F87[remanded in a remand centre] within the meaning of section 3 of the Children Act 2001 or detained in a children detention school within the meaning of that section,

(g) the deceased was, at the time of his or her death or immediately before his or her death, a child in care, F88[…]

F89[(ga) the death of the deceased was a maternal death or a late maternal death, or,]

(h) the coroner is of the opinion that the death of the deceased occurred in circumstances the continuance or possible recurrence of which would be prejudicial to the health or safety of the public or any section of the public such that there is a significant public interest in the family member of the deceased person being granted legal aid or legal advice, or both, for the purposes of the inquest concerned.

(6) Where legal aid or legal advice, or both, are granted by the Legal Aid Board to an applicant in respect of an inquest further to a request by a coroner under subsection (4), no further applications under subsection (1) may be made by a family member in respect of the inquest concerned.

(7) In this section—

F90[…]

F90[…]

"legal advice" has the same meaning as it has in the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995;

"legal aid" has the same meaning as it has in the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995.]