The Garda-station-turned-mortuary is seeing significant delays in post-mortems due to a lack of capacity.

The Dublin District Mortuary (DDM) has been described as "not fit-for-purpose" by the Irish Association of Funeral Directors.

The mortuary is used by the State pathologist and the Dublin District Coroner.

In a letter to the Department of Justice, the IAFD said the morgue lacks the capacity to carry out the required number of autopsies in a timely manner.

They said delays in releasing remains from the mortuary is causing "enormous distress to bereaved families".

Families in Dublin have been left waiting for more than two weeks for the release of their loved ones after post-mortems.

Converted garda station

The IAFD is calling for the DDM to be replaced and for the government to develop a new "purpose-built" facility in its place.

The current facility in Whitehall is a garda station that closed down in 2012 and was converted into a mortuary in 2014.

Former Dublin City Mortuary, demolished in 1999.

IAFD Board Member Fintan Cooney told Newstalk Dublin has a "growing population" but no facilities to match that.

"There are less facilities in Dublin for the coroner to conduct the post-mortems that need to be conducted," he said.

"If there are no plans to expand or develop a new facility, we can't see this problem improving, we can only see it getting worse."

The Whitehall facility was described as unfit for purpose in a report published by the Department of Justice last May, but no action has been taken .

Death may "peak on occasion"

In a response to the IAFD, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said the advised wait-time for a post-mortem to be performed in three days.

"However, this timeframe can vary and is largely dependent on the number of deceased persons who are cared at the mortuary," they said.

"As you may be aware, this is largely unpredictable and can peak on occasion."

They said the Department aims to ensure that the waiting time is "kept to a minimum".

"Unique technical elements"

Officials are currently engaged in a process to identify and hire a full-time pathologist, according to the spokesperson.

The spokesperson also referred to a report published by the Department of Justice in May 2022 that said the garda-station-turned-mortuary has "unique technical elements".

"While it may have been entirely fit for purpose over a relatively short period, its costs were also low," the report said. "And likely to have been proportionately so relative to a solution capable of a much longer economic life."

The report acknowledged the current facility may need to be replaced as "limitations have become more impactful and its deficiencies more pronounced".

Additional reporting by Ellen Kenny

Main image: Dublin District Mortuary, previously Whitehall Garda Station. Photo via Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie.