James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I take this opportunity to congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, on his recent appointment and on steering this, his first Bill through the Oireachtas and, knowing him, I have no doubt will be the first of many.

It has been ten years since the introduction of the Civil Registration Act 2004 and in that short space of time we have seen Irish society evolve and change more so than in any other period in the history of the State. We welcome thousands of new immigrants to our shores while, regrettably, saying goodbye to those who have emigrated. We saw the days of boom and burst. This amending legislation is a responsive measure which will go a long way to responding to the changing Ireland we have before us. To summarise, essentially, it records life events such as marriages and deaths. That, in turn, will help modernise and give greater clarity to the records we keep in Ireland.

There are three major amendments provided for in this Bill, namely, the compulsory registration of the father's name on the birth certificate; a tighter crackdown on marriages of convenience; and a record of deaths of Irish people abroad. I am pleased it will be compulsory for the father's name to be placed on the birth certificate of any child born in Ireland. The Minister of State is addressing an issue that for a long time was placed on the long finger. The introduction of this provision will underline the rights of the child under EU legislation and allow them to have access to their own identities. It allows the child to know who their biological father was. It provides the child with a small sense of background. It will also help future generations to trace their heritage, family history and roots.

The figure of 2,675 non-marital births where the father's name was not registered has been raised by Deputies over the years. Those are 2,675 girls and boys who may never find out who their biological father was. This amending legislation addresses this unsatisfactory situation. I am pleased to see it placed on the Statute Book. However, there are situations where there may be genuine reasons where the father's name is not registered. The mother may not know the identity of the father or the mother may believe that providing that information would be harmful to the safety of the child. I am glad to see that these reasons have been well and clearly defined in the legislation. The compulsory registration of the father's name will add a greater sense of responsibility upon the biological father. I would very much favour the introduction of compulsory maintenance payments from the father to the mother and from the mother to the father.

During my 12 years in the Oireachtas I have come across situations of marriages of convenience on a few occasions. It is a complex situation but I am glad that the Minister has laid out extensive groundwork and regulations to crackdown on these sham marriages. For years people have abused Ireland's marriage laws. This amending legislation will strengthen our existing laws and make it more difficult to arrange a marriage of civil partnership of convenience. It is important that the Minister of State has introduced the concept of a registrar and a superintendent registrar. The registrar will be allowed to investigate the proposed marriage to see if it genuine. Meanwhile the superintendent registrar will also offer advice, clarity and will have the final say. Therefore, we will have two people ensuring that the marriage is genuine.

I would like to follow up on a point made recently by the Irish Emigrant Support Centre about the position of the registrar. I agree with its call to ensure both registrars receive cultural awareness and diversity training in advance of the commencement of these sections and recognise the cultural context in which the marriage is taking place. If this is followed up on, we have a greater change of being able to clearly define who are the genuine couples hoping to get married and those who are not.

The recording of deaths of Irish people abroad is an issue that has been personally championed by Members of both Houses. I commend the Minister of State on listening to our views and taking on board our advice. This amending legislation will introduce a record of deaths of Irish persons who are normally resident in the State who die while on short-term absences abroad. While the documents will not replace the original foreign death certificate, the facts that families can record that death in Ireland will bring a small bit comfort to a distressing situation that we have all experienced at one point or another in our lives.

I once again commend the Minister of State on introducing his first item of legislation, which is a complex one. The amendments put forward in the legislation are important. They will bring much greater clarity to areas of Irish life where previously there was none. This Bill provides substantial changes to the 2004 Act and puts the registration services far more in tune and responsive to the Ireland we live in today.

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