Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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This Commencement matter is on the non-commencement of section 6 of the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014. This Act was passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas on 27 November 2014 and was signed into law on 4 December. As per section 1(3) of the Act, the Minister must commence certain sections. This last happened in 2020 with SI 550, which commenced sections 5, 7, 8 and 9. This was brought to my attention yesterday by the assistant registrar general of the Department. I was misled by a contradiction on the Irish Statute Book website regarding the commencement of these sections. Section 6 of the Act has not yet been commenced. It has been 3,240 days and the commencement order has not been given. I have submitted a Commencement matter so that we might hear why this is the case.

The sections in question relate to the registration of births and the naming of the children's parents on documents in cases where the parents are not married. It provides that it is the duty of both parents to comply with the registration of the birth of a child notwithstanding that they are not married to each other. Where the mother of the child attends alone she must provide information as to the father's name and contact details. Where the mother furnishes evidence and a statutory declaration that her spouse is not the father of the child the registrar must make responsible efforts to contact the spouse.Where parents fail to agree on the surname to be registered, a registrar may complete the registration by leaving the surname field blank or where a surname is already registered, leaving that surname in place. These are practical and common-sense provisions that were debated and voted in favour of almost nine years ago. They will also allow people in the future to be able to trace their lineage back, more importantly, to get in contact with estranged family if they wish to do so and engender greater certainty in the birth registration system.

I understand that an amending Bill is being drafted by the Department to correct a technical issue in section 6, causing it to reference subsection (1A) instead of subsection (1). If this assists in getting a section commenced, it is a welcome move, but why has it taken so long? I understand that legislative drafting is necessarily an exceedingly exact science and one that cannot be rushed, but nine years seems an awfully long time to wait for commencement. I hope the Minister of State will be able to shed some light on the matter.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State will not be able to address what the Senator said about being misled. That is a separate issue and is more of a legal matter.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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That is fine.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for introducing this extremely important topic as a Commencement matter. I am pleased to take it on behalf of my senior colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys.

As the Senator will be aware, the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act principally amends and extends the Civil Registration Act 2004 and the Act itself was signed into law on 4 December 2014. Sections referring to the law relating to marriage contained under Part 6 of the Civil Registration Act 2004 were commenced in 2015 and these sections primarily refer to marriages of convenience cases. Other sections were commenced in 2016 and 2020. Sections 6 to 9, inclusive, of the Act, referred to by the Senator, are related to the requirements under Part 3 of the Civil Registration Act 2004 to the registration and re-registration of births.

I am pleased to inform her that sections 7 to 9, inclusive, of the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act were commenced on 20 November 2020. Sections 7 and 8 substituted existing legislation concerning the re-registration of births. The new sections permit a birth to be re-registered in circumstances where the mother was not married to the father, amend some of the regulations around acceptance of court orders and provides a new system of rebuttal of paternity in cases where a married mother requests a registrar to re-register a birth with a father who is not her husband.

Section 9 introduces a mechanism around registering a birth where there is a failure between a mother and father to agree a surname for the child.

The only section referred to by the Senator that has not been commenced is, of course, section 6. That section introduces new provisions relating to the registration of the father where the parents are not married to one another. The section sets out that the mother, if she attends alone, is required to name the father of the child, with limited exceptions applying. Registration of the father will then be dependent of the man acknowledging paternity of the child. Commencement of these provisions was subject to the HSE arranging dates and venues for the delivery of training to registrars. This training was delivered in early 2020. However, prior to commencement, a technical error was discovered in the relevant amending legislation. This technical error is required to be corrected and this will be achieved in the forthcoming civil registration (electronic registration) Bill, which, as the Senator will be aware, was considered in pre-legislative scrutiny and approved for drafting by the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development, and the Islands. The Bill is currently with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and is at an advanced stage of drafting. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, looks forward to bringing the Bill to the Oireachtas shortly.

Given the passage of time since the training was delivered and the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, further engagement with the HSE will be needed to ensure operational readiness prior to commencement. I am pleased to inform the Senator that officials in the General Register Office are engaging with the superintendent registrars to have a plan for training in place prior to the commencement of section 6. Officials in the Department of Social Protection are happy to engage directly with the Senator if there are any outstanding questions.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate today is a busy day for the Minister. I appreciate the Minister of State coming to the House to take this important matter. It is important for the fathers out there. This is important legislation to ensure their names go on birth certificates. They have been waiting for this legislation for nine years.I understand that it is being drafted at this moment. The urgency is there for these fathers who have been waiting for this legislation for a long time. Not having that name on the birth certificate does not give them the rights that they deserve as fathers. I welcome it coming as quickly as possible and I welcome the Minister of State taking the time to answer this important question today.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The commencement of section 6 will provide an opportunity for all fathers' names to be recorded on the register of births. While this anomaly affects a small number of people, I do not for a second underestimate how important it is, not just to fathers but also to mothers and indeed children. It is the Government's view that where possible, all children should have the rights to know the details of both their parents. The commencement of section 6 will also complete the commencement of all sections of the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014 in relation to the registration and re-registration of births. Together with the forthcoming civil registration (electronic registration) Bill, it will provide for a modern and efficient civil registration service. I have no doubt but that this will happen speedily. Time is of the essence. There was, as the Senator rightly pointed out, an anomaly discovered in the original section that must be corrected. The training that is required must be delivered to suitable registrars. I understand and appreciate that time is of the essence. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, confirmed to me that she will make this an absolute priority to bring to the Houses.