Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 22 Apr 1999

Vol. 503 No. 5

Written Answers. - General Register Office.

Enda Kenny

Question:

43 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Health and Children the condition of the existing indexes to birth, marriage and death entries at the General Register Office; if these indexes are legible; if these valuable records are to be preserved by computer imaging process; if this process is wholly satisfactory; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6913/99]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Cowen)

The administration of the registration system is a matter for An tArd-Chláraitheoir, the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, and for local registrars who operate under his general direction.

I understand that the indexes to the entries in the registers of births, deaths, marriages and the register of adopted children, which are maintained by An tÁrd Chláraitheoir, are held in a number of different formats. The indexes, which are available for searching by the public on payment of the statutory fees, are printed and bound. There is an ongoing programme of maintenance for these indexes and between 200 and 300 of the index books are repaired, replaced and rebound each year. Considering the age of the material, and the amount of use to which they are subjected, the indexes are in a reasonably good condition.

In addition, indexes for selected years, particularly post-1966 onwards are held in electronic format. The Deputy will also be aware of the special project for the capture of the records are associated indexes in an electronic format which has been ongoing in Roscommon for some time. The first stage of this work which involves scanning the records and indexes is making steady progress and the project will shortly be in the position to begin the development of a retrieval package. Special procedures have been adopted, including image and data quality assurance tests and regulated backup procedures to ensure the completeness and accuracy of the information captured. I am confident that these measures will ensure that the indexes to the records of the General Register Officer and the records themselves will be fully safeguarded and preserved.

When this archival records project is completed, it will improve the efficiency, flexibility, access and management of the records and the associated indexes and will provide potential for the development of a range of services, which would not be possible in a system reliant on paper based indexes.