Vol. 505 No. 5
61 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children if extra staff will be provided at the General Register Office, Joyce House, Dublin, to expedite the issuing of birth, marriage and death certificates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13699/99]
The administration of the registration system, and the operation of the general register office is a matter for An t-Árd Chláraitheoir, the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
As I indicated in my reply of 25 May, in reply to a similar question, An t-Árd Chláraitheoir has advised that there has been an increased demand for certificates of entries of births, deaths and marriages in recent times. While his office has managed to maintain a normal service to personal callers, the postal and authorisation services are somewhat in arrears. However, additional resources have been provided and the postal backlog in respect of applications for certificates for post 1900 events, in particular, had by that stage been reduced from nine weeks to approximately six weeks. A further reduction has been achieved in the interim and the delay is now five weeks. It is anticipated that a further improvement will be achieved by the end of the week. Priority is being given to these applications, as such certificates are more likely to be required for other services.
