Vol. 553 No. 5
386 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if her attention has been drawn to the concern expressed by the Genealogical Society of Ireland regarding access to records of the General Register Office, following the enactment of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, 2002; the steps she intends to take to ensure access to records by genealogists to such records; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14363/02]
The Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2002, provides for the amendment of the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages Acts to facilitate the implementation of the first stage of the civil registration modernisation programme. In particular, it provides for the introduction of electronic registers of births and deaths, electronic production of certificates of birth, death and marriage, changing of a child's surname on re-registration, creation of an electronic database of historical paper based records and electronic searching of records. A programme of work aimed at the introduction of a modern civil registration service has been under way for some months. The focus in the initial phase of the project is on the design of the new computer system and the development of the business and legislative framework for the future registration of life events.
My Department is aware of the concerns expressed by the Genealogical Society of Ireland regarding access to records of the General Register Office. As part of the on-going communication-consultation process with representative groups and organisations, a letter issued on 12 April 2002 to all family research-genealogical representative organisations, which included the Genealogical Society of Ireland, inviting them to a meeting on 13 May 2002. The purpose of the meeting was to outline the approach to the modernisation of the civil registration service, provide an overview of the amendments to the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages Acts, give an update on the "Roscommon project" which is concerned with the electronic capture of paper based records, demonstrate the future approach to the electronic searching of indices in the General Register Office using a prototype system and discuss issues and concerns of the various groups. The Genealogical Society of Ireland was represented at this meeting and its representatives were informed that there were no plans to limit access to registration records and that the electronic search facility demonstrated at the meeting, would, in fact, provide for speedier and more efficient access to the records.
