Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Coughlan, to the House and I thank her for introducing this Bill, which my party broadly supports. Fine Gael welcomes any attempt to modernise the recording of births, marriages, deaths and other events which are of paramount importance in most people's lives. It is important that the Bill recognises events such as annulments and divorces, which were not pertinent in the 1840s when the initial legislation was passed.

In recent years, we have seen a great deal of enlightened legislation, such as the Stillbirths Registration Act 1994 and the Registration of Births Act 1996. These Acts modernised parts of the law in this area. The 1994 Act established, for the first time, a statutory system for the registration of stillbirths. I welcome the extension in this Bill of the period in which stillbirths can be registered and the fact that parents can now ask a friend or another significant person to register a still birth, rather than having to endure the trauma of registering the child's name. The level of bereavement experienced by the parents and siblings of a stillborn child cannot be overstated. While society can show some sympathy, people often do not receive assistance from their friends and neighbours after the death of a child. In this context, therefore, it is very helpful to give more time for registration and to permit another relevant person to register the birth. I question the need for a mother's marital status to be included on a stillbirth registration certificate. I wonder if this provision is necessary.

I have received a copy of the correspondence sent to the Minister by the co-ordinator of AMEN, who asks questions about the registration of unmarried fathers as guardians of their children. It seems that guardianship is a sufficient life event to warrant registration in a formal way. Does the Minister intend to address this aspect of the issue of guardianship in the Bill? Does she intend to address the matter in other legislation?

It is essential that all the administrative systems of the State are user-friendly and geared to the needs of individuals, rather than having rigid rules and bureaucracy. I ask for more flexibility to be provided in the appeals system.

As the Minister is aware, the Irish Genealogical Research Society and the Genealogical Society of Ireland have raised some questions about the need to insert the maximum amount of information in all records, particularly death registration. It is felt that the insertion of more detail, such as a person's place of birth, would be most helpful. I ask the Minister to consider this area. The Bill also reflects matters already provided for in the Status of Children Act 1987.

It is most important that the Bill reflects current realities. It is critical, for many reasons, that death certificates are issued as quickly as possible. It is imperative that this is done and that the process is expedited.

I would like to ask about the provision of greater flexibility in the venues in which marriages are permitted to take place. Can the Minister indicate whether guidelines in this area will be issued? I broadly welcome this provision, as some of the offices in which marriages currently take place are less than attractive. In Waterford, City Hall was a wonderful venue for marriages, but permission to marry there was refused by officials not long ago. Is it intended that guidelines will indicate what type of venues can be used, or will it be open season, with only the consent of the registrar required?

I look forward to the Minister's response to my questions. It is important that we get the details right and that we tease out many problems that may exist. In this instance, going from a manual to a computer-based system is to be welcomed, as it should improve and expedite the service to the public. I have not seen the amendments accepted on Committee Stage in the other House last night, but I am sure the Minister will be flexible about any amendments we put down.

A colleague of mine recently gave me a copy of an American publication which contained an article headlined: "Irish citizens can now get records of births, deaths and marriages in just a matter of minutes". To highlight the simplification of the system, the article takes the example of a person who was born in Dublin but moves to "...County Donegal, a remote corner of northwestern Ireland." It states:

Up until now, that person would have faced the unappealing prospect of a five-hour journey to the capital and the possibility of a long wait in the Civil Registration Office in order to get a copy of his or her birth certificate. Now, that person can go to the nearest branch of the Civil Registration Office, give the clerk a name and date of birth and have the certificate within minutes.

That is what the Americans think about it. The mention of the assembly of historical records in the article was interesting. It states:

That was accomplished over the course of three years, during which workers at a special center in County Roscommon scanned five million registration documents going back to 1845 and containing a total of 25 million records. Those records were then recorded in a separate, but linked, index database for ease of retrieval.

It is wonderful to see that. One paragraph in the article sums up all our hopes:

[The new system] has transformed a bureaucratic system that was once awash with paper into an efficient, streamlined operation and promises to deliver huge benefits to the Irish government and the population as a whole.

We hope this will happen. I commend the Bill to the House.