asked the Minister for Defence if he is aware that married members of An Fórsa Cosanta Aitiúil when reporting for training for the purpose of qualifying for children's allowances as married soldiers submitted short form birth certificates for qualified children in accordance with the recently enacted Vital Statistics (Births, Death and Marriages) Act and that such certificates were returned by the Department of Defence as inadequate and with instructions that the long or full form of birth certificate should be submitted which costs 7/-; and whether, in view of the expense and inconvenience this involves, he will make arrangements with An tArd Claraitheora to have birth certificates for the purpose of qualifying soldiers' children for children's allowances issued at the cheap rate of 1/- just as is done in connection with children's allowances under the Social Welfare Acts.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Soldiers' Children's Allowance Certificates.
The short certificate of birth is not adequate for the purposes of payment, under Defence Force regulations, of an allowance in respect of a child, because it does not contain the names of the parents of the child.
The instructions issued to married members of An Fórsa Cosanta Aitiúil who are eligible for marriage and children's allowances directed that birth or baptismal certificates should be furnished in respect of children. The procedure laid down is similar to that for the permanent force and for the Reserve—First Line, the members of which ordinarily find no difficulty in furnishing baptismal certificates if they do not possess full certificates of birth.
In the circumstances, I do not feel that there is any necessity to take the steps suggested by the Deputy in the latter portion of his question, which would, in any event, require amending legislation.
May I ask the Minister if the effect of this decision and a similar decision issued, I understand, to the Civil Service by the Minister for Finance, is to undo the very good work that was done by this Dáil in adopting the short certificate? I would ask the Minister to reconsider the effect of that decision as against the decision of the Dáil in regard to the short certificate.
There may be a certain amount of truth in what the Deputy states but there is practically no difficulty now in securing a baptismal certificate and, under the Defence Force regulations, payments for the children of soldiers cannot be made unless they have proof obtained through the medium of the baptismal certificate.
When this short certificate was adopted it was agreed that it would be valid for the purposes of examinations and for many other purposes and it can be made valid for the purposes of these regulations and for the Civil Service generally. What I am asking the Minister to do is to consider amending the regulations so that this short certificate will be valid in the Army and in the Civil Service in the same way as it is expected to be valid in regard to examinations and other matters which involve State finances.
I can have the matter examined from the point of view of the Army. I cannot do anything about the Civil Service.
I appreciate that.