Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)

I thank the Members of the House for their interest in, and comments on, the legislation and for the co-operation from the Whips and the Seanad officials in agreeing to allow the legislation be introduced at short notice.

The comments about the strides in terms of efficiency are valid and I appreciate them. The Civil Service held a showcase event at which elements of 20 Departments toured the country. The register of deaths and births, particularly births, was shown for its efficiency. It is a superb streamlining of the service and is the way of the future. One might expect Intel, Google or other private operators to do their business in this way but civil servants have shown they can compete efficiently with those operators.

Senator Leyden has allayed many fears that may have been unfounded. I hope people take note of his words.

The 2004 Act cannot be commenced without this proposed amendment. The introduction of the marriage provisions, including the choice of marriage venues, would be further delayed without it. Surnames of children born to parents who are not married to one another but who subsequently marry cannot be changed. This often results in children of the same family having different surnames which causes distress for the families involved, particularly in regard to school and contact with public agencies.

The delay in commencing the Act causes continuing difficulties for the General Register Office and the Civil Registration Service generally. The continued reliance on old and fragmented legislation, much of it dating back to the 19th century, poses ongoing problems for the GRO and the general public and is not geared to the needs of a modern society.

It is obvious from the debate that Members recognise the vital importance of civil registration legislation and its effect on our lives as individuals and the wider society. I assure Members that their comments are noted and will make a valuable contribution to the future development of the civil registration policy, in particular the comments about surrogacy. It is the case that all births can be and are registered but the points Senator Henry raised about the particular difficulty this entails will be noted too.

It is unfortunate that owing to time pressures it is not possible to respond in detail to all of the points raised but there was a lengthy and thorough debate on registration issues during the passage of the Civil Registration Act in January and February 2004. I thank Members for bringing their concerns about civil registration before the House and for their co-operation in ensuring this vital technical amendment to the CivilRegistration Act passed swiftly through the House.