THE DEPARTMENT OF Justice has today published information on unidentified human remains provided by coroners around the country.

Records of 44 unidentified remains were published today, with cases ranging from as far back as 1968 and as recent as last year, with the hope that releasing the information will encourage people with missing loved ones to come forward.

DNA profiles for 28 unidentified remains are on the National DNA Database, while the Department of Justice intends to exhume the graves of the remaining 16 unidentified remains in order to collect DNA.

The process of exhuming unidentified remains that were buried before DNA samples were taken “is expected to take some time to complete,” the department said.

The database will be updated every year as new unidentified remains are found, many of which come from coastal areas or the sea.

More than half of the remains were found in Cork, Clare, Wexford, Tipperary and Dublin.

Minister of State at the Department of Justice, James Browne, urged people with missing loved ones to consult the database.

“The records contain clues: some have tattoos, it might be the clothing the person was wearing at the time, the locations of where remains were discovered. All of that is now going to be online from today.”

“We remember in particular the families and friends of missing people in Ireland and recognise the ongoing pain suffered and the lack of closure in the absence of the remains of their loved ones.”

“I know that the families of missing people have long called for the release of this information. We have listened to that request and I welcome the publication of that data today,” he said.

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Browne also thanked coroners who had to spend time digitising paper records in many older cases.

“We do engage with other international organizations such as Interpol and Europol. I’m conscious, if you look at the locations of a lot of the remains, a lot are from coastal areas,” Browne continued.

“So that might indicate that some have either come from fishing accidents or may have come from other jurisdictions as well.”

There are currently approximately 856 unsolved missing persons cases live on the Garda Pulse system.

Mayo Coroner Pat O’Connor, one of the country’s 34 coroners spread across 37 districts, said that the identification of remains brings great closure to the families of the deceased.

“People want to know how did the person die, why did they die? It does bring some comfort. It doesn’t relieve the overall grieving, but at least if you have certainty of the medical cause of death, and the identity of the person, it does allow people to try and get on with the next stage,” he explained.

“If there are people with relatives who are missing, contact the Garda Síochána Missing Persons Bureau and provide them with a DNA sample.”

To encourage more family members to participate in DNA testing, the Department of Justice is developing a targeted outreach programme, in partnership with An Garda Síochána and Forensic Science Ireland (FSI).

In 2022 FSI assisted in 74 missing persons cases where DNA reference samples from family members were submitted for DNA profiling and uploaded to the National DNA Database.

This led to the identification of 12 missing persons.