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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 3 Apr 2001

Vol. 533 No. 6

Written Answers. - Decentralisation Programme.

Denis Naughten

Question:

250 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Health and Children when the decentralisation of the General Register Office to Roscommon town was first announced, when decentralisation of staff to Roscommon first commenced; when the decentralisation process will be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9610/01]

The decision to decentralise the General Register Office and to computerise the archival records of the office – all births and deaths records from 1863 and marriage records from 1844 – and the associated indexes in the special project located in Roscommon was announced in 1992.

The filming and scanning of an estimated 21 register entries to provide a data base of images of the pages and the direct scanning and conversion of the printed indexes, to provide a machine readable index began in 1996. This work was initially carried out by civil servants relocated to Roscommon who were assisted by participants in a community employment scheme. In recent months additional civil servants have been assigned to the project and some staff have been recruited locally on a temporary basis. It is estimated that the work will be substantially completed in 2002, which is a necessary prerequisite to the full decentralisation of the General Register Office.
As the Deputy may be aware, this project is part of a wider plan to modernise the registration service. My Department and the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs are engaged in the review of the entire registration system, including registration law, the structure of registration on a national basis in order to identify the changes needed in the law and structure of registration to capitalise on the use of modern computer technology to capture registration information in an electronic format directly at the point of registration. Consultants have been contracted to assist in this process. The objective is to implement a modern efficient effective and customer focused service geared to the needs of the 21st century.
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