Marie Moloney (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Tánaiste to the House. She was here last week with the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill but it seemed to end so quickly. She disappeared and we did not have a chance to congratulate her on her new position. I am pleased the Tánaiste has chosen to stay on in the Department of Social Protection because she is a very good Minister for Social Protection. Now she has a little help on board but that may mean we might not see her as often.

There are several amendments and welcome changes in the Bill. Like others, I welcome the amendment that will make it the duty of the mother and father to provide information in respect of the birth of a child. I welcome the fact that the father's name is to be registered on the birth certificate for two reasons. In this country there are many single fathers fighting for the right to be involved in their child's life. I know many who are regularly in court fighting for access and visitation rights. When we speak or think of single parents, we immediately think of the mother. However, more and more nowadays fathers are taking over the role and for those who continue to fight for their rights, this is a step in the right direction.

There are fathers who shirk their responsibilities, deny they are a child's father and refuse to pay maintenance. As long as the mother provides the name of the father the registrar can make contact with the father and ask him to attend to register his details. It is only right that the father be named. However, I note that if the father does not bother to turn up at the registry office then the registrar can complete the registration with no details of the father. I wonder whether this is an opt-out for people who simply do not bother turning up with the result that their name will not be on the birth certificate.

One concern I have about the process is that it will be lengthy in some cases and the registration of a birth may be delayed. This can cause problems for child benefit and one-parent family applications given the lack of a birth certificate. I welcome the fact that a provision is being made to omit the father's name. I will not go through these points again because we all know them. My colleagues have outlined the reasons for possible omission. Such a case could arise if the mother does not know the whereabouts of the father. I believe in this case she should still provide the name, even if she does not know the whereabouts. Perhaps the registrar or the Department may be able to track him down.

Children, especially when they become adults, have every right to know who their biological father is. Too often we watch programmes or we read about people trying to find their biological mother or father. They feel incomplete until they know who they are and they cannot know this until such time as they know all about their biological parents, mother and father. At least if the name of the mother and the father appeared on the birth certificate, such people have a starting place. This will be a positive amendment.

I wish to highlight a matter relating to the registration of deaths. I have spoken to the Minister about this previously. The public do not realise or know the procedure for registering a death. They have no idea that they must have photographic identification or a personal public service number when registering. Many people do not even know that they have to register the death and believe that the doctor does it, as in the old days. Then, when they seek a death certificate they find the death is not registered and they must take it upon themselves to do it. Then they may find that they do not have a passport, photographic identification or a PPS number to hand and they have to go away again. Perhaps the Department of Social Protection should prepare a pack to be distributed to undertakers, who could sensitively supply the information to the bereaved or next of kin.

I welcome in particular the setting up of a register to record the death of Irish citizens who die abroad. I appreciate that it will not replace a death certificate issued by the country of death. However, an Irish person who dies abroad either suddenly or who may have spent some of her retirement abroad may wish to have the death registered in her own country because it was her home. I know of people whose relatives have died abroad. They have found it unfinished, for the want of a better expression, that the death of their loved one is not recorded in their homeland. Would this record of death suffice for pensions, insurance policies or legal matters or would the family still need to get a certificate from the country in which the person died? I have met people from several families who were holidaying abroad when a member of the family died suddenly. There is considerable red tape involved in trying to get the body home and then securing a death certificate afterwards especially if it is not an English-speaking country.

I welcome the amendment that necessitates the production of documents and information regarding immigration status if one of the persons giving intent to marry is a foreign national. This will help to stamp out marriages of convenience. I also welcome section 15, which will allow the registrar to notify the Department of Justice and Equality if he or she believes it to be a marriage of convenience. This will allow immigration authorities to investigate the situation.

Other issues could have been dealt with under this Bill, including forced marriages and child marriages. My colleagues, Senator Bacik and van Turnhout, recently moved a motion in the Seanad on these issues. I believe a golden opportunity was missed by not dealing with these issues.

I also wanted to mention the issue of birth certificates for people who have been adopted, which I know is close to the Minister's heart and mine as my father was adopted. I understand that there are two birth certificates - one which is closed containing the person's original birth details such as the name of the birth mother and the birth name of the baby and one to which they have access and which contains the adoptive name. Does the Minister propose to allow adoptees to have easy access to their original birth certificates? People are entitled to what is rightfully theirs and also have a right to know their biological parents and their medical history. I know that when my children were young and the doctors asked me about my family history, I had no idea about the medical history of my father's side. We could not supply the information because we did not have it. I knew my grandmother but we certainly did not know my grandfather. Most adoptees' birth certificates contain the mother's name and rarely contain the father's name, which makes tracing them very difficult. As Senator Mooney noted, it will be a great help to have fathers' names on birth certificates.

I welcome this Bill. It makes a change to be in here dealing with a social welfare Bill that is not controversial. Again, as other Senators have said, it shows that there is a human side and that the Minister gave much thought and compassion to this Bill.