Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 325:

In page 52, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following: “Provision relating to persons the subject of incorrect birth registration

54. (1) For the avoidance of doubt, the fact that a person is the subject of an incorrect birth registration shall not affect—

(a) the rights or liabilities acquired, or

(b) the validity or consequences of an action done,

in good faith by him or her.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the rights, liabilities, validity and consequences to which that subsection applies shall not be affected by the fact that they were acquired or the action concerned was done, as the case may be, by the person concerned—

(a) in particular name,

(b) on the basis that he or she had attained a particular age, or

(c) on the basis that a particular person was his or her parent or other relative.

(3) For the avoidance of doubt, any rule of law, custom or practice by which a person may use a particular name applies to a person who is the subject of an incorrect birth registration.”.

I am tabling amendments Nos. 325 and 327 but I will also speak to the intention to table a further amendment on Report Stage.

Individuals affected by illegal birth registrations may discover they had a different name than their social name that was used in various contracts and legal documents. They may also have a different age by a matter of days, weeks or, indeed, months than that recorded on their incorrect birth registration. As we know, as members of society, we are all often asked to complete a declaration when applying for services or engaging in contracts with both the State and private organisations. This kind of declaration will also often ask the applicant to ensure the facts provided in the form are true and correct to the best of his or her knowledge. Through consultation and engagement with those impacted by illegal birth registration, I understand that for some people this declaration now poses a challenge and causes discomfort given they know about their birth of origin.

Amendment No. 325 seeks to address this directly and is in line with the recommendations from the interdepartmental group on the St. Patrick's Guild incorrect birth registrations. The amendment will provide assurance that contracts, legal documents and any acts undertaken in good faith will not be invalidated or that the persons affected will not experience any adverse consequences simply because they were the subject of an incorrect birth registration. This assurance will apply both retrospectively and prospectively. It does apply retrospectively, however, which is important; that is, prior to the passing of legislation and before the affected person discovered his or her birth was incorrectly registered.

I also intend to bring amendments on Report Stage to deal with the issue of succession in respect of persons affected by illegal birth registration. This issue was raised by the interdepartmental group I established last year to address issues arising for people affected by illegal birth registration. Since then, I have been liaising with the Minister for Justice on amendments to the Succession Act 1965, which falls within the competence of the Department of Justice. These amendments will ensure that people affected by illegal birth registrations would, for the purposes of succession and inheritance, be deemed to be the children of their social parents. It is proposed that the amendments will be carried in the Birth Information and Tracing Bill, again, so affected persons can benefit from them as quickly as possible. That amendment will be brought forward on Report Stage.