Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 301: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if there is a restriction on access to State records on births, deaths and marriages for the purposes of research in certain parts of the country; if so, the counties which restrict this information; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8450/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Statutory responsibility for the administration of Civil Registration in Ireland rests with an tArd-Chlaraitheoir (Registrar General). His Office, the General Register Office (GRO) is the central repository for records of life events occurring in the State, e.g. births, deaths, marriages, stillbirths and domestic adoptions.

I have made enquiries of an tArd-Chlaraitheoir regarding the matter raised by the Deputy and the position is as set out below. The statutes governing the administration of Civil Registration provide that any person, following an application in writing to an tArd-Chlaraitheoir, to a Superintendent Registrar, a registrar or to an authorised officer may, on payment by that person of the prescribed fee(s), search the indexes to the registers and be provided with a certified copy or copy of any entry or entries specified by the person arising from the search.

The statutes also provide that an tÁrd-Chláraitheoir, a Superintendent Registrar, a registrar or an authorised officer shall, following an application in writing from a person and on payment by that person of the prescribed fee(s), undertake searches of the registers and the indices thereto on behalf of that person for an entry or entries specified by the person, and may provide him/her with a certified copy or copy of any entry or entries so specified. The person must furnish sufficient information to enable the record s/he requires to be identified from the indexes.

The statutes do not provide for direct access to the registers by any person other than an tArd-Chláraitheoir, a Superintendent Registrar, a registrar or an authorised officer. A dedicated genealogical research facility is provided by the Civil Registration Service and is located at the Irish Life Centre, Lr Abbey Street, Dublin 1.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) is responsible for the day-to-day delivery of registration services through a network of 62 local registration offices across the State managed by Superintendent Registrars. Records relating to access to indexes held by the local registrars are not routinely maintained by the GRO. An tArd Chlaraitheoir has undertaken to make enquiries of the Superintendent Registrars relating to access to records locally. As soon as this information is to hand, he will contact the Deputy direct with the information she requires.