Vol. 517 No. 1
140 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Health and Children the conditions and circumstances which apply for the issue of death certificates; if he will review these and ensure death certificates are issued more expeditiously; if his attention has been drawn to the considerable trauma and inconvenience caused to many bereaved who have to wait inordinate lengths of time before death certificates issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9218/00]
The administration of the registration system is a matter for An t-Árd Chláraitheoir, Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages and for local registrars who operate under his general direction.
The particulars to be recorded in the register of deaths are set out in the births and deaths Acts, 1863 to 1996, and in regulations made under those Acts. The Acts provide that all deaths occurring in Ireland should be registered, in the registrar's district in which they occurred, as soon as possible. The person registering the death – the qualified informant – must produce to the registrar a medical certificate of cause of death signed by a registered medical practitioner who treated the deceased within 28 days before the death. The qualified informant signs the entry in the register of deaths. The list of qualified informants includes relatives of the deceased and the occupier of the hospital or institution in which the death took place. Once a death has been registered, a certificate of the entry in the register of deaths may be obtained directly from the registrar at the time of registration.
If the deceased was not seen by a doctor within 28 days or if he or she died as a result of an accident or in violent or mysterious circumstances the death must be referred to the coroner, in which case the death will be registered on foot of a certificate issued by the coroner to the registrar containing all the details to be registered. The arrangements for a post-mortem examination and possibly for an inquest can cause some delay in the registration of a death.
However, if the Deputy is aware of a problem in relation to the registration of a particular death perhaps he would communicate the details so that the matter can be investigated.
