Fine Gael has warned a Harold Shipman-style killer could slip through the health service net here unless the Irish death certificate system is reformed.
The party's health spokesman, Gay Mitchell, said the transfer of General Registry headquarters from Dublin to Roscommon is an opportunity to examine any unusually high number of deaths recorded in one region, who they were registered by and the causes of death.
British doctor Shipman has already been convicted of murdering 15 of his patients, although there are fears he killed many more.