Good morning everybody and thank you for having us here. My name is Yvonne O'Reilly. Next to me is my husband, Mr. Liam O'Reilly, and seated next to him are Ms Theresa O'Halloran and Ms Mary Britton.
Why are we here? We are here today to represent our son, Keith, whom we tragically lost on 18 July 2009. We are also representing all the other Irish citizens who have died outside Ireland and have not been registered in this country. Keith had just completed his third year as a civil engineering student in NUIG. Due to the downturn in the economy, he was unable to secure a college placement, so he returned to Chicago where he had spent the previous summer on a J1 visa. He called it every engineer's dream city.
On 16 July we received the dreaded phone call that every parent fears. Keith had been in a swimming accident and was on life support. We had two days with him, but tragically lost him on 18 July. When we left America, the coroner, Mr. Cooney, gave me a copy of Keith's death certificate and said I would have to register his death at home. Some weeks later, when I gained the strength to register it, I was devastated to learn that I was unable to do so as the death of an Irish citizen outside this country is not recorded here.
We find that very hard to understand and accept, as Keith was an Irish citizen and very proud of his country. He loved rugby and captained the Irish team in Lansdowne Road in 2000, where an Irish birth certificate was required in order for him to do so. He wore the green jersey of Connacht at under-18 and under-20 levels, and dreamed that he would one day represent his country at senior level.
We ask why our son Keith and other proud Irish citizens have been robbed of their identity and discriminated against. We are calling on the Minister for Social and Family Affairs to amend the Civil Registration Act 2004 so that the families of Irish citizens who die abroad can record their deaths at home.
The 2004 Act relates to the registration of births, stillbirths and deaths in the Irish Republic. According to the legislation, all deaths that occur within the State must be recorded and registered appropriately. In general, deaths may only be registered in the State if they occur within its borders.
However, section 39 of the Act provides for some exceptions. Those include: the deaths of members of the Garda Síochána or the Permanent Defence Force while serving outside the State; the deaths of persons on board an Irish aircraft or an Irish ship; the deaths of Irish citizens on board a foreign ship or a foreign aircraft; and the death of an Irish citizen abroad in a state where there is no system of registration.
What that all means is that the vast majority of Irish citizens who die abroad will never have their death recorded or registered in this country.
A growing number of Irish people who travel overseas never come home alive. The grim reality is that in the past three years, almost 600 Irish citizens have died outside this country. In 2009 alone, 244 Irish citizens died abroad. Only four months of this year have gone by, and already the figure is greater than 40.
Death is part of life. It should not be an excuse to stop honouring our citizens and the lives they lived. Being unable to register a person's death in Ireland makes life far more difficult for the grieving family members they leave behind. It is unfinished business, and future generations will find it extremely difficult to find any documentation as there is no record available.
I ask what happens if people do not have all the relevant information in order to go looking for a death certificate, or if it is filled out in a foreign language. An original death certificate is needed, as copies are not acceptable. That involves additional fees and the cost of time. There is also a question over whether Keith's Irish passport would be open to abuse.
When somebody dies abroad, the death is far more distressing because of the complications involved in being away from home and dealing with strangers. People should surely not be penalised for going on holiday or taking advantage of a short-term working visa.
On St. Patrick's Day, together with Keith's friends and fellow students, we launched a Facebook campaign called "Help bring them home" and a petition to amend the 2004 Act. To date, we have over 2,000 fans and 1,500 signatures. We have received support from numerous TDs, including Government Ministers, the Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan, Opposition spokespersons and the leaders of Fine Gael and the Labour Party.
I will read out some of the comments placed on Facebook by friends of Keith and his friend Brian Forde. Brian Forde was a young lad who shared an apartment with Keith last year in Chicago. He was killed one week before Keith in New York. One comment reads, "Please give Keith and those gone before us what is rightfully theirs, registration of death in their own country". Another reads, "Without the registration of all deaths of Irish people our archives will forever remain incomplete". A third comment reads, "They have lost their lives, they don't deserve to lose their heritage", and another, "Cá bhfuil an ceart agus an chóir?"
The Minister for Social and Family Affairs responded on 30 March to a Seanad question on the topic which asked if the Government will amend the Civil Registration Act to facilitate the registration in Ireland of deaths of Irish citizens who have died abroad. He replied, "The number of Irish citizens who are domiciled in Ireland and who die abroad is relatively small in the context of total deaths occurring here in any given year". The number is steadily rising and yet, as far as we can tell, no progress has been made in amending this ridiculous Act.
People might ask why an Irish death certificate is required when the family can legally receive one from the country in which the death occurred. I believe that the loss of my son deserves to be recognised by the country he loved so dearly. His life is as worthy as anybody else's life.
Without a record and registration of Keith's death here in Ireland, it will forever feel as though a piece of him remains stranded across a vast ocean, miles from his family and his home. His future nieces and nephews will find nothing of his passing in any Irish documentation; it will be as if he simply vanished from the face of the earth.
The 2004 Act makes exceptions for men and women in uniform who are serving their country all across this planet. I am asking about the men and women abroad without a uniform, such as our European representatives, and Members of the Oireachtas and of this committee, who travel abroad on a regular basis to serve their country with just as much commitment and passion. Would their loss be any less of a tragedy?
These people are not just statistics: they are sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, and brothers and sisters. They are, most importantly, human beings, whom other human beings loved. I ask members to imagine that it happened to one of their family, or to one of their own children. They would not need to hear a presentation on why this issue is so important.
We are asking the committee for its help, and reaching out with open arms. So far, very few Members have come back on the issue and are willing to commit to fixing the problem. We hope that today will be a turning point in our fight to help to bring our son home.
By amending the 2004 Act, Members will not only help our family and the many other families in our situation. They will unconsciously rise to the challenge of assisting future families who will have to face such a painful and difficult process.
We call on the Minister and his Department to examine the issue carefully and consider amending the legislation for the sake of our citizens who lose their lives abroad, especially those who are abroad for a short period of time, such as people who are on holiday or on a working visa. Those people are not living permanently in a foreign country at their time of death. They are domiciled in Ireland.
Statistics show that more Irish people than ever are travelling abroad. On average, 6,000 J1 visas and 22,000 working holiday visas are granted annually. There are more than 18,000 Irish emigrants each year, and in 2009, approximately 7 million trips were made from these shores by Irish people.
I ask how many of those people will forfeit their Irish identity by not being registered here if death should befall them before they return home. It is a basic right for parents and families who have suffered a loss of a loved one abroad who is an Irish citizen to have registration in place. I believe that is very important.
In Britain, the legislation is similar. Deaths are registered according to local regulations of the country in which the person died. However, there is also an option to register the death at the British consulate. The record will then be sent to the general registry office within 12 months and a record of the death will be held in the UK. That is known as a consular death certificate.
In the United States a report of death of an American citizen abroad is issued by the US consular officer, and is used in lieu of a foreign death certificate as proof of death.
Irish civil registration forms the backbone of genealogical research in Ireland, because the registration of deaths, births and marriages helps us to identify family groups. These vital records are the most important documented evidence we have of our ancestors. I ask legislators to amend the Civil Registration Act 2004 and help us to bring our loved ones home.
