Margaret Cox (Fianna Fail)

Lots. However, we changed the system for the better, allowing six months during which parents may apply for child benefit. Now we are seeing what technology can do for customer service. Senators know what it was like to deal with the red tape and bureaucracy of many Departments, especially, in the past, the Department of Social Welfare. One might sometimes wonder whether it was worth it. Many people gave up and stopped fighting. The new system is a building block — in fact, it is probably the whole foundation — for some of the modernisation we are seeing. It is to be welcomed.

It is time we stepped into the 21st century and had central databases of information. I recognise the amount of work that has been done all over the country and in various Departments in considering business process re-engineering. Many years ago, when Digital was in Galway, we used to hear new terminology on a weekly basis from the engineers and business managers: re-engineering, reprocess engineering, restructuring, business processes. Little did I know that as time moved on, we would see them being used to refer to new systems by the Government. It is a welcome development.

I attended a conference about e-democracy on behalf of the Government approximately six years ago. The story I told then, having been briefed by the various Departments, was very different from what is happening now. We were not talking about the integration of databases, on-line processing of applications, or being able to register a birth in one location and obtaining details of it in another location. This system will allow for Irish people all over the world to check information. We have come into the technology age and this will make a big difference in terms of accessibility to our records.

I compliment everyone who has been involved in the Bill. As I read through the Minister's speech and the aims and objectives she outlined in the Lower House, I recognised a proactive focus on change. What does the Bill actually do? It considers the area of administration and sets out the various offices that must continue. It deals with the servicing and preparation of the annual report of the civil registration system for the Minister for Health and Children and the Houses of the Oireachtas. It makes clear the divisions between an tArd-Chláraitheoir and the local health boards, which are renamed as the local registration authorities. It delegates certain functions currently performed by an tArd-Chláraitheoir to the superintendent registrars. It provides for the maintenance of the register of births, stillbirths, adoptions, deaths, marriages, decrees of divorce and decrees of civil nullity of marriage and the continuation in office of serving registrars. It has addressed these issues in a businesslike and clear manner.

As the Minister has outlined, registration of a birth with any registrar instead of the registrar of the district in which the birth occurred makes absolute sense. It is good that we are in a position to facilitate this. An important point is the extension of the time limit for the registration of a birth from 42 days to three months. The limit of 42 days did not make sense in certain circumstances. These incidents were the exception, but they were not catered for. This is a welcome development and an indication of the increasing emphasis on practicality in the way we do our business. We are recognising that sometimes time limits need to be extended and technology is allowing us to make these extensions.

Procedures are also outlined for the registration of the birth of an abandoned baby and for the registration of the details of a child's father where the parents of the child are not married to each other. The registration and late registration functions are devolved to a local level and it allows for the registration of certain births and stillbirths which occur on board an aircraft or at sea.

There is the opportunity on Second Stage of a Bill to explore some of the issues around a Bill. Responsibility of fatherhood, already referred to on the other side of the House, is raised by this Bill. It is not simply about putting one's name on a birth certificate. It is about what is entailed if one fathers a child. It is not just about guardianship or custody of the child, but what direction society is going in. Is it acceptable to allow the State to take the responsibility for the role of the father in certain circumstances? I do not believe that is good enough. We must ask what is acceptable in this matter. What do we expect from people and what are their roles and responsibilities? This legislation is not the place to write this in, but the debate needs to be more focused. An attitude now prevails that it does not matter who the father of the child is if that person does not present themselves and that it does not matter that the girl in question, generally, is left with the responsibility of bringing that child up on her own, with the State expected to pick up the tab. That is not good enough. The Minister clearly outlined in the Lower House that research has shown that the most stable and best environment for children to be brought up is two-parent family units. However, we have made this huge step to where it does not matter anymore if the baby's father is not doing his job properly. This is not acceptable, we need to say so and there needs to be change. I do not have the answers to this issue. However, the debate must begin as to why it is unacceptable and how to impose responsibility on somebody who thinks it is good enough to leave the mother to carry the burden for the following 18 years after the child is born.

The Bill addresses the issue of stillbirths. We have moved on from the old days when stillbirths were hidden and the child was not recognised as one. Hospitals have worked hard over the last number of years in dealing with this issue. A stillbirth will now be registered as a birth, which is important to those who have lost a child this way. The Bill proposes to extend the time limit for registration from three months to 12 months, which is also important. The extension of those who can act as qualified informants is an important step in accepting that sometimes parents are not in a position, even 12 months later, to deal with such sad circumstances. This is particularly the case if that birth had been awaited or there were previous miscarriages. It is important to recognise the changes that have been made in this area. The registration of adoptions is also covered in the Bill and the creation of indexes to allow traceability of parentage is an important development.

With regard to the registration of deaths, I recall how I was contacted by a lady who had gone to her local registry office to get a copy of her father's death certificate. When she got it, the date of death was wrong, yet the official insisted it was the right date. It was badly handled, the customer service was not appropriate and the bureaucracy involved in changing the date was unacceptable. This Bill addresses that issue. The list of qualified informants can be extended to include undertakers. The time limit for registration is being extended from five days to three months. Again, in certain circumstances, five days does not make sense, particularly if it was an unexpected death or a case of multiple deaths caused by a road traffic accident. To expect such cases to be registered within five days does not make sense as the bereaved are not thinking about it at that stage. This Bill introduces provisions that are proactive, clear and practical.

Senator Cummins was correct in his comments on marriages. The Ireland of today is different from 19th century Ireland. We need to address a number of issues in marriages such as venues, registration and the process involved in marriages. One of the great elements about Ireland and her culture is that we believe that two people, together in some form of marriage, make the best and most stable family unit. It is appropriate for us to continue to support the stability of those types of relationships. We must ensure that when people go into a marriage, they realise it is a commitment. Hopefully, it is a commitment for life because it is much better to be married to one person than to be married and go through a separation, divorce or an annulment.