Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 28 Jun 2000

Vol. 522 No. 3

Written Answers. - General Register Office.

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin):

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.

The Registration of Births and Deaths Acts, 1863 to 1996, and the Marriages Acts of 1844 and 1863 provide that an t-ard chláraitheoir shall retain certified copies of the records of births, deaths and marriages returned to him on a quarterly basis by local registrars and that he shall compile and make available an index to such records at his office. Persons are entitled, under statute, to search these indexes on the payment of the approved fees and to obtain certified copies of entries identified from the index.

As the Deputy may be aware, a joint programme of work, aimed at modernising the civil registration service, is being undertaken by the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs and my Department, which will involve the review of the entire registration system, including registration law, the structure of registration of a national basis in order to identify the changes necessary to capitalise on the use of modern technology to capture registration information in an electronic format at the point of registration in a modern, efficient and legally adequate system. It is the intention that the system will incorporate a link to all life events associated with each person. The objective is to implement a modern, efficient and effective system geared to the needs of the 21st century. Funding of £7.3 million for the modernisation programme was approved in 1999.

The Deputy may also be aware of the steps that are being taken to maintain and improve indexes to the records of births, deaths and marriages including the special project for the capture of the records of births, deaths and marriages and associated indexes in an electronic format which has been ongoing in Roscommon for some time. When this archival records project is completed, it will improve the efficiency, flexibility, access and management of the records and the associ ated indexes and will provide potential for the development of a range of services, which would not be possible in a system on printed indexes.

The General Register Office is co-operating fully with the Passport Office and certain procedures have been put in place to alleviate the problem, in relation to the use of birth certificates to obtain fraudulent passports, referred to by the Deputy.

The Deputy will appreciate that it would be a matter for the Garda to investigate any alleged fraudulent use of birth certificates for passport purposes.