Vol. 539 No. 2
114 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will amend section 1(4) of the Registration of Births Act, 1996; if his attention has been drawn to the anomalies created by this subsection being effective on 1 October 1997; and if he will make arrangements to have a registration of birth facilitated in a case (details supplied) in the manner in which the parents involved requested; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19167/01]
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.
As the Deputy may be aware, the Schedule of the Registration of Births Act, 1996, set out the particulars to be registered in respect of the birth of a child registered on or after 1 October 1997. These include a forename and surname for a child. Where a surname assigned to a child is recorded in the register of births, that surname is included in any certificate issued in respect of that entry. Section 1(4) of the Act provides where the birth of a child is being re-registered after the commencement of the Act, and the birth has previously been registered so as to record a surname of the child, the surname to be recorded for the child on re-registration is that which appeared in the original entry.
The future development of the registration service is being considered in the context of the joint initiative being undertaken by my Department and the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs to identify and implement the changes necessary to provide a modern and effective service based on the electronic recording of vital events. The review encompasses the structure of registration on a national basis as well as the Acts relating to the registration of vital events. As part of the review process a consultation document was published on 1 May 2001 on the future development of the registration service and to obtain the views of all interested parties. The consultation document indicated that it is intended to provide for a change in the surname of a child where the father's surname is being entered on the register.
