Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 January 2010
420 Deputy Charles Flanagan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will introduce changes to the Civil Registration Act 2004 with particular reference to recognising the registration in this State of deaths of Irish citizens where such deaths occurred outside this jurisdiction in the form of a register of foreign deaths; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3270/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe provisions and procedures governing the registration of deaths in Ireland are contained in Part 5 of the Civil Registration Act 2004.
Where a death occurs in the State it is the duty of a qualified informant (normally a relative of the deceased) to attend at a registrar's office and register the death on foot of a certificate of cause of death supplied by a registered medical practitioner. Where a death is referred to a coroner, the death is registered by a registrar on foot of a coroner's certificate.
In general, only deaths which occur within the State are registerable. Exceptions apply under the provisions of section 39 of the Act, concerning;
deaths of members of the Garda Síochána or the Permanent Defence Force or of the spouse or specified members of the family of such a member outside the State while the member is serving outside the State as such member,
deaths of persons on board an Irish aircraft or an Irish ship,
deaths of Irish citizens on board a foreign ship or a foreign aircraft travelling to or from a port, or an airport, as the case may be, in the State.
Where the death of an Irish citizen domiciled in the State occurs abroad, the death may be registered here if at the time of the death there was not a system of registration of deaths in the place where the death occurred, or such a system that applied to such a death, or it is not possible to obtain copies of or extracts from civil records of the death. Where an Irish citizen dies abroad and the death is registered by the civil authorities of the place where the death occurred, a certified copy of the death registration, translated, if necessary, is sufficient for all legal and administrative purposes here and there is no necessity for the event to be entered in the register of deaths in the State. Accordingly, it is not proposed to make any changes to the existing provisions at this time.
