Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 6 Mar 2001

Vol. 532 No. 1

Written Answers. - General Register Office.

Brian O'Shea

Question:

195 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Health and Children the proposals he has to bring the service to the public in the General Registration Office up to best international standards having regard to correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6568/01]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin):

The administration of the registration system is a matter for An tÁrd-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 Act, 1863 to 1996, and the Marriages Acts of 1844 and 1863 provide, inter alia, that An t-Árd 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 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 program 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 a review of the entire registration system, including registration law and the structure of registration on 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 Deputy may also be aware from answers to previous questions in relation to registration issues of the project to capture records of births, deaths and marriages and associated indexes in an electronic format which has been ongoing in Roscommon for some time. This project will benefit all customers of the registration service throughout the country by improving the efficiency, flexibility, access and management of the records and the associated indexes. It will also provide potential for the development of a range of services which would not be possible in a system reliant on printed indexes.

The suggestion made by the Deputy's correspondent will be considered in the context of the above-mentioned review of the registration service.