Léim ar aghaidh chuig an bpríomhábhar
Gnáthamharc

Registration of Deaths

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 July 2020

Tuesday, 21 July 2020

Ceisteanna (444)

Colm Burke

Ceist:

444. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if an immediate review will be carried out of the registration of deaths to reduce the time period for registration of deaths in order to provide more accurate information in a timely manner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17321/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The Civil Registration Act 2004, as amended, provides that deaths may be registered at any time following death. Currently, the obligation to register a death rests with the relatives of the deceased, or in their absence, other persons specified in the Act. A death must be registered within three months of the date of death. However, there are no sanctions if a death is registered beyond that time period.

Unfortunately, only four in every five deaths are registered within this timeframe. The manner and operation of the death registration process has been identified by the General Register Office (GRO) as an area requiring reform to ensure it meets with domestic and international public health and reporting requirements for life events. The GRO is leading an inter-agency working group to modernise the way deaths are notified and subsequently registered. This work is timely as it coincides with recommendations made by the National Public Health Emergency Team to reduce the length of time between the date of death and registration.

The working group is nearing completion of its work and I expect that the proposals it will bring forward will be subject to public and stakeholder engagement before being considered by the Government in the autumn. It is likely that legislative changes will then be needed to the Civil Registration Act.

The objective is to ensure that the current timeframe for death registration is reduced to a matter of weeks. To achieve this, significant technological and process changes will be required. The co-operation of medical practitioners and hospital management, as well as that of the relatives of the deceased, will also be needed.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Question No. 445 answered with Question No. 435.
Barr
Roinn