Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 173: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the legal position in relation to a person (details supplied) in County Sligo who has been unable to get her child registered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2867/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I have been advised by the Registrar General that the position is as follows.

The provisions governing the registration of births are contained in Part 3 of the Civil Registration Act, 2004. Section 22 (3) provides that, where the mother was married at the date of the birth of the child or at some time during the period of 10 months ending immediately before such birth, and where it is maintained that the legal spouse is not the father, there must be given to the registrar either a statutory declaration from the spouse rebutting paternity of the child, or a statutory declaration of the mother that she has been living apart from the spouse during a period ending immediately before the date of the birth of the child of more than 10 months by virtue of a decree of divorce, a decree of divorce a mensa et thoro, a decree of nullity or a deed of separation.

Subsection 22(1)(d) provides for applications to register the father's particulars where there is provided to the registrar a document purporting to be a copy of an order made by a court in proceedings referred to in section 45 of the Status of Children Act 1987, and to be certified by or on behalf of the court to be a true copy of the order, finding that the person is the father of the child. The orders referred to are maintenance orders and orders relating to guardianship, for which applications may be made to local District Family Law Courts.

These provisions stem from section 46 of the Status of Children Act, 1987, which provides that the husband in a legally subsisting marriage shall be presumed to be the father of all children of the marriage, unless the contrary is proved on balance of probability. The statutory declarations and court orders referred to above are required in order to set aside the presumption of paternity.

In the case (details supplied) that is the subject of the Deputy's question, the mother is still legally married to the father and is not in a position to obtain from her legal spouse a statutory declaration rebutting paternity. Consequently, she was informed by the registrar that a court order, naming the father of the child, is required under the legislation, in order to disprove the presumption of paternity and effect registration of the child's birth. To date, no such order has been supplied to the registrar. Once a copy of such an order is presented to the registrar, registration may be completed very shortly thereafter.