Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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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?

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton. She apologised for not being able to take it but was already committed to a previous engagement.

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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That is a slur on the House.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, a concern to many families.

The provisions and procedures governing the registration of deaths in Ireland are contained in Part 5 of the Civil Registration Act 2004. Where a death occurs in the State, it is the duty of a qualified informant, normally a relative of the deceased, to attend at a registrar's office and register the death on foot of a certificate of cause of death supplied by a registered medical practitioner. Where a death is referred to a coroner, the death is registered by a registrar on foot of a coroner's certificate.

In general, only deaths which occur within the State are registerable. However, section 39 provides for exceptions such as the deaths of members of the Garda Síochána or the Permanent Defence Force or of the spouse or specified members of the family of such a member outside the State while the member is serving outside the State as such member. It also provides for deaths of persons on board an Irish aircraft or an Irish ship, deaths of Irish citizens on board a foreign ship or a foreign aircraft travelling to or from a port, or an airport, as the case may be, in the State.

Section 38 makes provision for the registration of a death of an Irish citizen domiciled in the State in certain specific circumstances. Where the death of an Irish citizen domiciled in the State occurs abroad, the death may be registered here 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 such as a death certificate. In other words, if the death could not be registered or if a death certificate could not be obtained, the death can be registered here. Although the number of such cases is extremely small, it is considered reasonable to make provision for them.

The reasoning behind these provisions is simply to ensure that where deaths cannot be registered abroad, they can be registered here and that in all cases the relatives of the deceased have available to them a certificate of the death for personal, legal and administrative purposes. Usually, when an Irish citizen dies abroad the death is registered by the civil authorities of the place where the death occurred and a certified copy of the death registration is obtainable. This certificate, translated, if necessary, is normally sufficient for all legal and administrative purposes here and for these reasons alone there is no necessity for the death to be registered in the State.

Any broadening of the current provisions will require careful consideration. It will be appreciated that the number of people who live and die in other countries and who have or are entitled to Irish citizenship is very large. This would have implications for the registration process and for the vital statistics relating to deaths which are derived from registered events. The number of Irish citizens who are domiciled in Ireland and who die abroad is relatively small in the context of total deaths occurring here in any given year. The figures available in respect of some recent years are as follows; 2007, 150; 2008, 205; 2009, 243; 2010, 210 and for the first quarter of 2011, 56. My understanding is that the vast majority of these people were travelling abroad for leisure or business purposes. The Minister is conscious that each figure represents a tragedy and because the deaths occur away from home it is an additional heartache for the family.

As I stated, a death certificate is readily available in the overwhelming majority of these cases. However, the Government appreciates that many families of the deceased feel strongly that by registration of the death, the person's death is given recognition in his or her own country and also that this fact would assist during a period of considerable grief. The Department will, therefore, have this matter reviewed in the context of future amendments to the Civil Registration Act 2004. A general review of the provisions of the Civil Registration Act 2004 is expected to be completed later this year.

It might be possible to take a look at what our nearest neighbours have done in regard to legislation in this area and I will bring what the Deputy had to say in this regard to the Minister's attention.