Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for this opportunity to speak on the important issue of the registration of deaths abroad.

It is now over a year since the Bring Them Home campaign made a presentation to an Oireachtas committee on the need to amend the Civil Registration Act 2004. Unfortunately, no changes to the legislation have been made to rectify the issue which the campaign raised and explained so clearly. The position remains today that a family of an Irish person who dies abroad cannot have that person's death registered in Ireland. The legislation, as it stands, stipulates that the death of an Irish citizen abroad may only be recorded and registered in Ireland if that death occurred on an Irish ship or aircraft, on a foreign ship while it was in transit or if the deceased person had been a member of An Garda Síochána or the Defence Forces. It is right and proper the deaths of our service personnel abroad be recorded in this State. However, it is also right and proper the deaths of all Irish citizens abroad be recorded by the issuing of a death certificate by the State.

Deaths abroad may be recorded by a registrar, other than a death to which section 39 applies, "if there was not at the time of the death a system of registration of deaths in the place where the death occurred or such a system that applied to such a death, or it is not possible to obtain copies of or extracts from civil records of the death".

Following representations from families who had lost relatives, in particular sons, daughters, brothers and sisters, the then Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív, committed to a review of the legislation in April 2010, a most welcome commitment. The then Minister held several meetings with the Bring Them Home campaign but the results of the review did not come to fruition prior to the fall of the previous Government, despite the many intervening months between the announcement of the review and the general election.

The latest position appears to be that the review, which is being undertaken by the Office of the Registrar General, is still ongoing. I acknowledge that reviews can, with the procedures to be followed, be complex and time consuming, no more so than when amendments to legislation are involved. However, this review is long overdue. The inability of us as legislators to be in a position to amend the Civil Registration Act is merely prolonging the pain of families who have lost loved ones abroad. This is unacceptable.

Thankfully, personally I have not lost a loved one abroad but every Member will have experienced loss of some type be it a parent, sibling, friend or neighbour. The loss of a loved one is traumatic. Can Members imagine those citizens who have suffered the horror and upset of a foreign death of a family member? Can they imagine the trauma of repatriation of the remains and the delays that could take place? Can they imagine that even when the burial is complete and the moving on begins, the State cannot give closure to these families by the issuing of an Irish death certificate?

In the case of our nearest neighbour, when a death of a citizen in the case of England and Wales occurs unexpectedly abroad, it is registered according to the local regulations of that country, a similar process to ours. However, the one important difference is that the death must also be reported to a coroner as if the death had occurred in England or Wales. If the death were expected, the family may register it and receive a UK death certificate, the record of which will be kept at the General Register Office's overseas registration section in Britain.

The Bring Them Home campaign has made use of the social media website, Facebook. To date over 4,100 people have lent their support for the amendment of the Civil Registration Act. A simple perusal of the campaign's Facebook page reveals the number of people - family and friends of deceased Irish people - for whom a small change to our legislation would mean so much. For many, it would represent closure and help in moving on while never forgetting their relatives and friends. It would also enshrine the memory of those citizens who have tragically died abroad and ensure future citizens will know the truth of what happened to their ancestors.

The review of the Civil Registration Act must be concluded as soon as possible. It must bring about a change in the legislation to allow for the registration of the deaths of Irish people abroad. It is such a minor change but would be a major difference to many. Will the Minister and the Government put pressure to bear to achieve this change?

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