Mr. Tony O'Brien:

We are already connected with the Department of Social Protection, but my understanding is that it relies on the same primary source, the Death Event Publication Service, DEPS, which records and communicates the registration of a death. There can be an interval between the death and registration, because there is no compulsion regarding a particular timeline for that. The DEPS is the primary source used by all State agencies to ensure the veracity of population type registers - whether for screening, benefits or GP visit cards. It is used as the central repository of that information.