Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 June 2018
82. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her Department is examining the issue of the falsification of birth certificates; if so, the action she plans to take; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26575/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe General Register Office (GRO) operates under the aegis of my Department and has responsibility for the administration of the Civil Registration Service in Ireland. The Health Service Executive (HSE) is responsible for the day-to-day delivery of the Civil Registration Service through a network of local civil registration office across the State. Births are registered at local registrar’s and Superintendent Registrar’s offices.
Adoptions are registered by the Registrar General. The register of births records such data as are required by law relating to each birth occurring in the State. The information recorded is provided to the registrar by a qualified informant, normally, the parents or a member of staff of the hospital or nursing home where the birth took place. The registrar is reliant on the qualified informant to provide truthful and accurate information. From a visual inspection of a register entry it is impossible to say whether it is false or not. Questionable entries in the register can only be identified on foot of information or evidence given by third parties.
As the Deputy is aware, my colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr. Katherine Zappone, T.D., recently announced that Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, would be contacting people in 126 cases where births were incorrectly registered between 1946 and 1969. These cases were identified during an analysis of adoption records that were transferred to Tusla by the former adoption society St Patrick’s Guild.
Minister Zappone has directed that further investigations be carried out now to see if clear evidence of incorrect registrations can be obtained from the records of other former adoption agencies held by Tusla or the Adoption Authority. I understand that the terms of reference for the review will be published shortly. The GRO will cooperate fully with any request for assistance by Tusla or by any individual affected by this issue. Illegal entries in the register of births, where they have been identified, can be dealt with under existing legislation which provides for cancellation, correction of errors and late registrations.
