The registration of deaths in Ireland is governed by the provisions of Part 5 of the Civil Registration Act 2004 and section 37 (1) of the Act places a duty upon a relative (by blood or by marriage) of the deceased to attend at the office of a registrar, within 3 months of the death, in order to register the required particulars.
If it is the case that no relative, who has knowledge of the required particulars in relation to the death, and who is capable of acting, exists, or cannot be found, then it is open to any other qualified informant to effect registration. If, after 3 months since the death have elapsed, no relative has acted, the Superintendent Registrar may request any other qualified informant to register the death.
Aside from relatives, the Act specifies the following as qualified informants:
a person present at the death,
any other person who has knowledge of the required particulars,
if the death occurred in a building used as a dwelling or a part of a building so used, any person who was in the building or part at the time of the death,
if the death occurred in a hospital or other institution or in a building or a part of a building occupied by any other organisation or enterprise, the chief officer of the institution, organisation or enterprise (by whatever name called) or a person authorised by the chief officer to perform his or her functions,
a person who found the body of the person concerned,
a person who took charge of that body,
the person who procured the disposal of that body, or
any other person who has knowledge of the death.
The Act provides for a hierarchy of qualified informants. Relatives of the deceased are first in the hierarchy and it is only if a relative is unavailable to register the death that the responsibility devolves to non-relatives. The purpose of the provisions is to ensure that the most extensive and complete particulars are given to registrars, on the basis that these would be best known by relatives of the deceased.
Prior to the commencement of the provisions of the Act relating to deaths, in December 2005, many deaths were registered by hospital staff, general practitioners, nursing home staff and other qualified informants who, in most cases, possessed less knowledge of the deceased's particulars than would a relative. As such, many registrations were incomplete and this was a source of understandable concern to the surviving family members and it is for this reason that a duty to register was placed upon relatives.
In addition, the period for registration was extended to 3 months, which is the standard period for registration of life events provided for by the Act. As the death of a relative is a traumatic occasion, it was felt that retaining the previous period of 5 days would be insensitive.
