Written Answers. - Birth Registration.
Charles Flanagan
Question:
277
Mr. Flanagan
asked the
Minister for Health and Children
the reason for the delay in procuring a birth certificate in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Laois; his views on whether the issue of a birth certificate for a person constitutes a basic human right; and the steps, if any, he will take to deal with the delay.
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The administration of the registration system is a matter for An t-Ard Chláraitheoir, the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, and for local registrars who operate under his general direction.
The registration system seeks to ensure that all births are registered as accurately as possible in a timely and legally adequate manner. The Births and Deaths Registration Acts, 1863 to 1996, impose a duty on the parent(s) of a child and in the default of the parent(s) on other specified informants to give to the registrar, within 42 days of the birth, the information required for the registration of a birth, and to sign the entry in the register of births. As the Deputy may be aware, the right of a person to have his or her birth registered has recently been acknowledged by the review group on the Constitution.
An t-Árd Chláraitheoir maintains an index of births, deaths and marriages at the General Register Office, Joyce House, 8-11 Lombard Street East, Dublin 2, which may be searched on payment of the statutory fee and a search in the birth records, on the basis of the information furnished, has failed to disclose a birth registration in respect of the person referred to by the Deputy.
Where it is established that a birth has not previously been registered, it is possible to effect registration provided the information, required by law to be registered, is available. The authority of An t-Árd Chláraitheoir is required for the registration of a birth, where more than 12 months has elapsed since the date of birth. A statutory declaration setting out the particulars to be registered is required. An application for authority for the late registration of the birth in question was received by An t-Árd Chláraitheoir on 20 March 2000. However, as the accompanying statutory declaration was not in order, the applicant was immediately issued with a new statutory declaration with instructions on its proper completion. An t-Árd Chláraitheoir will be in a position to finalise this application as soon as a properly completed statutory declaration is received. There has been no undue delay in processing the application.
