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 person to whom the Deputy referred has not been denied access to the records maintained by the General Register Office. The Registration of Births and Deaths Acts, 1863 to 1996, and the Marriages Acts, 1844 and 1863, provide that An tArd-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. The Marriages Ireland Act, 1844, section 70, in respect of marriages other than Roman Catholic marriages, the Registration of Births and Deaths (Ireland) Act, 1863, section 17, in respect of Roman Catholic marriages, and the Registration of Births and Deaths (Ireland) Act, 1863, section 50, in respect of both births and deaths, provide that 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.
The person concerned has previously been made aware of the manner in which records may be accessed in the General Register Office and he has acknowledged that he previously used the facilities of that office for his research.
The Freedom of Information Act, 1997, provides, at section 6 (1), that every person has a right to and shall, on request therefor, be offered access to any record held by a public body. Section 46 of this Act provides, at subsection (2)(a), that this Act does not apply to a record of which a copy is available for purchase or removal free of charge by members of the public. As birth, death and marriage entries are available for purchase by members of the public from the General Register Office, the Freedom of Information Act, 1997, does not apply to these records.
