asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health if, having regard to the trouble and inconvenience experienced by parents in cases of incomplete registration of births, particularly when such registration is effected by certain hospitals, he will alter paragraph 93 of the appropriate regulations so as to provide for the insertion of Christian names at any time subsequent to the original registration, provided that the request for such insertion is accompanied by a certificate of baptism or a suitable declaration on the part of a parent.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Registration of Births.
The Christian name of a child whose birth has been registered before it has received a name in baptism, can be inserted in the birth register within 12 months after the date of registration on production to the registrar of a certificate of baptism and on payment of a fee of 1/-. This provision is not only a regulation, it is a statutory enactment contained in Section 8 of the Births and Deaths Registration (Ireland) Act, 1880.
The period of 12 months appears to give ample opportunity for the insertion of the Christian name in an entry of birth.
Arising out of the Minister's reply, the position in this matter is that in a number of cases where children are born in Dublin maternity hospitals, and particularly in one hospital, the practice is that the registrations are carried out by a nurse who frequently only gives the surname and does not hand in the Christian name of the child. The result is that the parents only become aware of this when the child reaches an age when it requires a birth certificate for examination purposes. The purpose of my question is to see whether the Minister would consider this matter, if evidence is given to him to show that a good deal of trouble arises out of the prevailing practice, by extending the period beyond the 12 months, because as a rule it is after 12 or 14 years that the difficulty I have referred to comes to the knowledge of parents.
I will be glad to give consideration to any facts dealing with the matter that are put before me.