Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 28 Apr 1998

Vol. 490 No. 2

Adjournment Debate. - General Register Office Delays.

Ms Fitzgerald

I am glad to have the opportunity to raise the disgraceful position in the births, deaths and marriages register office in Joyce House, Lombard Street. It is extraordinary that people must queue for hours on end for this service. I understand that as many as 50 people frequently queue in the rain outside the office with the same number of people waiting inside. People arrive at 7.30 a.m. to register or to get documents which many of them require urgently. The office is turning people away and staff are unable to cope.

The workload in the births, deaths and marriages register office has increased following a number of legislative changes introduced by the House. If legislative changes are made, resources should be provided to those who must implement them. There have been changes in relation to notification of marriage and changes in the format of birth certificates. This means there is further demand on the service. It is obvious the staff cannot meet the demands on the office at present. It is unfair to consumers and staff at a time when emphasis is placed on giving consumers quality services. It is unacceptable that people must wait so long, that there are inadequate facilities to deal with them and the office opening hours must be restricted due to lack of staff.

The office opening hours are 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 2.15 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. The staff must close the office at these hours to deal with postal queries which take up to six weeks at this stage. People often want certificates in a hurry for a variety of reasons. I was recently approached by a person whose son was getting married in Eastern Europe and who needed the long version of his birth certificate in a short time because it needed to be translated. However, he was told it would take six weeks by post.

It is unacceptable that a public service office is giving this type of response to consumers. I ask the Minister to immediately allocate extra staff to deal with the problem and to give citizens a proper service. The current situation is unfair to consumers and staff.

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Dr. Moffatt)

I thank Deputy Fitzgerald for raising this matter on the Adjournment. The administration of the registration system, including the services and facilities provided at Joyce House, is statutorily a matter for An tÁrd-Chláraitheoir — Registrar-General — of births, deaths and marriages and for the superintendent registrar, Dublin and registrars who operate under his general direction.

There are two separate offices located at Joyce House, Lombard Street, Dublin 2, issuing certificates of births, deaths and marriages, the general register office and the above-mentioned superintendent registrar's office on the ground floor, which provides certificates for all births, deaths and Roman Catholic marriages occurring within the Dublin city and county area. This latter office in particular is currently experiencing a very high level of demand for certificates which is the primary cause of the long queues outside the building and also the delay in processing postal applications for certificates by that office. While the general register office is operating a normal service to personal callers, there is approximately a four week delay in responding to postal applications for current events, with a longer delay in respect of events prior to 1900. I am very conscious of the long queues for services outside Joyce House. I am aware that these queues have been considerable in recent times and I regret the inconvenience to the persons concerned.

The Eastern Health Board, which is responsible for the administration of the superintendent registrar's office, has secured a lease on a premises adjoining the offices in Lombard Street. It will, however, take some weeks to occupy and commission the new offices. Additional staff will be required to develop new facilities, including facilities necessary to ensure the appropriate level of privacy to the public attending for the registration of events. The number of additional staff required for the development of the improved service is subject to consultations between the board and the Department of Health and Children. I understand that in the interim the board is taking immediate steps to improve staffing levels within the constraints of the existing accommodation in order to redress the problem and to minimise delays. These measures will considerably improve maters for the public attending at Joyce House.