Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As Deputy Funchion stated, this is an issue that came up extensively on Committee Stage. Indeed, we submitted an amendment to make a distinction between falsely or otherwise incorrectly. The Minister took that point on board. I, too, would welcome clarification on how amendment No. 2, tabled by the Minister, as well as his later amendments which I am delighted to see he has brought forward in respect of a review of incorrect or apparently incorrect birth registration, affect the point we made. We wanted to ensure there was a distinction between inadvertent false information and deliberately falsifying the information. It is that distinction between deliberate and inadvertent that we were trying to capture in our amendments. I know Deputy Funchion has tabled amendments on this. To some extent, the Minister stated on Committee Stage that he had brought forward an amendment similar to the one I tabled that addressed the issue.

What Deputy Funchion and I welcome is that the Government amendments, taken together, would recognise the basic illegality of what has occurred. I did not submit my previous amendments on this point because I think that if all the Government amendments on this issue are accepted, the legislation will address this point. If I may look ahead to amendment No. 70, it provides that the Minister can authorise the agency and authority to conduct a review or trace, particularly in order to investigate whether there is evidence that a person has been the subject of an incorrect birth registration. It seems that some of the issues we raised have been addressed but we are seeking confirmation of that.

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