Vol. 534 No. 4
34 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands the reason she has decided not to proceed with the proposed committee of experts to carry out a review of the procedures whereby courtesy recognition of chiefs is granted by the Genealogical Office; when the review by the Chief Herald of decisions regarding the granting of courtesy titles will be concluded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10708/01]
The Deputy will be aware from my reply to a previous Parliamentary Question No. 28 on 21 Feabhra 2001, that I have decided that the establishment of a committee to review procedures in the Genealogical Office, whereby courtesy recognition of chiefs of the name is granted, is not warranted at this time. The Direc tor of the National Library, in his capacity as Chief Herald, has commenced examination of a number of high profile individual cases where courtesy recognition of chiefs of the name was granted in the past. His preliminary examination has elicited the need for legal advice on certain complex aspects of the cases and this advice is awaited. Detailed consideration of these cases by him, as Chief Herald, cannot be concluded until he has received and considered the legal advice. The work of any review committee would be severely constrained by the absence of both the legal advice now sought and formal consideration by the Chief Herald of these cases. The legal issues need to be fully resolved before the question of a formal policy review can be revisited.
The Deputy will appreciate that I am somewhat constrained with regard to elaborating the specific nature of the legal issues involved. I take the opportunity to point out again that a chief of the name has no legal standing. It is a person recognised by the Chief Herald of Ireland as the senior descendant of the last inaugurated Gaelic lord of that name, granted courtesy recognition. Recognition is therefore no more than the acknowledgement of a genealogical fact which does not carry with it any rights or privileges in law.
From what the Minister says, it may be quite some time before there is any substantial progress on this issue. Can we take it there will not be any further recognition of bogus titles, or of any titles in the interim, until this issue is dealt with? Would the Minister agree that there are grounds for the abolition of the Genealogical Office and its full integration into the National Library?
I cannot say how long it will take to get the necessary legal advice. That may well take some time. Once that advice has been obtained the Director of the National Library, as Chief Herald, will have to take time to consider those points of view and it will not be until then that we will get a clearer picture. The Genealogical Office and its responsibilities sit well on the shoulders of the Chief Herald.
Can the Minister tell us if there is a full record of the number of bogus titles that may be out there at the moment and, when the review is carried out by the Chief Herald, will there be a mechanism whereby such titles can be withdrawn?
I cannot give the number of such titles and in relation to the matter which is under review by the Chief Herald, as it is a question of law, I do not want to discuss it. It would not be appropriate for me to discuss legal issues in this House. There have been some high profile cases and they are being considered at the moment and it is not until all due procedures have been completed that we will know the full facts on these issues. Only then will I be in a position to report to the Deputy.
