Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 April 2024
422. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the making public of the stillbirth register; if she has further plans for reform to support families through pregnancy loss and stillbirth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18083/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe registration of a stillbirth is voluntary. The General Register Office (GRO), who operate the Stillbirth Register on behalf of my Department, have observed that around half of parents who experience a stillbirth select to register the event, perhaps in part reflecting, the huge loss and trauma experienced by parents and their families. Those parents who registered the stillbirth of their child on the current register did so in the knowledge that the record created would not be publicly available.
Currently, the birth of a stillborn child may be registered where the child has a gestational age of 24 weeks or more or weighs 500 grammes or more. I have recently published the Civil Registration (Electronic Registration) Bill 2024 which , based on clinical advice from the Department of Health, seeks to reduce these criteria to 23 weeks and 400 grammes respectively. Additionally, I have also introduced a change that will allow, in cases of multiple pregnancies, that where any child reaches the criteria for stillbirth, then any other children will also be recorded as a stillbirth, provided they each weigh 200 grammes or more.
Currently, only the parents of a child recorded in the register can request a stillbirth certificate. The new Bill provides that other members of the family can also make an application. This process has also been improved in the Bill and it will enable local HSE registration staff , in addition to staff of the GRO, to search the register and issue certificates for the parents or family members.
The Bill will also create a new Record of Stillbirths. This Record will be open to the public and will contain records from the Register of Stillbirths, where the parents of the stillborn child indicate to the GRO that they would like to have the details of their stillborn child in the Record of Stillbirths.
These are important changes to the stillbirth registration process which I hope will help families who have experienced the trauma and sadness of the loss of a stillborn child.
I believe the changes I have outlined above together with the voluntary open access of the Record of Stillbirths will allow a form of public recognition whilst also maintaining the privacy of those parents who do not wish to have their child's records made available publicly.
Information relating to the reform of supports for families who experience pregnancy loss and stillbirth are matters that relate to the Department of Health.
I hope that this information is of assistance to the Deputy.
