Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 2 Jul 1996

Vol. 467 No. 7

Written Answers. - Marriage Notification Regulations.

Seamus Brennan

Ceist:

75 Mr. S. Brennan asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to an anomaly in the new regulations for notification of marriage in relation to the district in which the marriage is to be held where applicants who change their minds on the location of the district cannot have their application transferred to another district and be certain of the validity of their marriage in the eyes of the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14019/96]

Minister for Health (Mr. Noonan,

Limerick East): The administration of the registration system is a matter for An tArd-Chláraitheoir — Registrar-General — and for local registrars who operate under his general direction.

I am aware of one case in which the difficulty referred to by the Deputy has arisen under the provisions of section 32 of the Family Law Act, 1995.

If the parties to an intended marriage, having served notification of their intention to marry on the Registar for a particular district, subsequently decide to change the location, i.e. church, place or building, at which their marriage is to be solemnised and the new venue is in another registration district, they must give three months notification of their intention to marry to the Registrar of Marriages for the new district in order to comply with the requirements of section 32 of the Family Law Act, 1995. Alternatively, the couple may apply to the courts for an exemption to the notification requirement of section 32 of the 1995 Act under section 33 (1) of the 1995 Act, prior to the solemnisation of the marriage. Applications for section 33 exemptions are a matter for the Circuit Court or the High Court.

An tÁrd-Chláraitheoir is obliged to act strictly in accordance with the relevent provisions of the 1995 Act in relation to the prior notification of marriage. If, in a spirit of helpfulness, an administrative solution were to be offered to a couple who have changed their minds about the location of their marriage, doubts would be cast on the validity of the marriage and on the integrity of the carefully constructed system designed to protect the lawfulness of all marriages.