Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 149: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the progress made to date regarding a possible change of law in relation to the registration of deaths occurring abroad; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5286/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The administration of the Civil Registration Service is statutorily a matter for the Registrar General. I have made enquiries with the Registrar General and he has informed me that the general review of the provisions of the Civil Registration Act 2004 is expected to be completed by the middle of this year. The review will include the provisions in relation to the registration of deaths.

The provisions and procedures governing the registration of deaths in Ireland are contained in Part 5 of the Civil Registration Act, 2004.

Where the death of an Irish citizen domiciled in the State occurs abroad, the death may be registered here if there was not at the time of the death a system of registration of deaths in the place where the death occurred, or such a system that applied to such a death, or it is not possible to obtain copies of or extracts from civil records of the death.

Where an Irish citizen dies abroad and the death is registered by the civil authorities of the place where the death occurred, a certified copy of the death registration, translated, if necessary, is sufficient for all legal and administrative purposes here and there is no necessity for the event to be entered in the register of deaths in the State.

However, it is appreciated that registration here of the deaths abroad of Irish citizens would be significant to the relatives of the deceased and it is in this context that a commitment has been made to review the existing provisions of the Civil Registration Act, 2004, in relation to this issue.

There is a range of issues to be considered in relation to the scope and implementation of any proposed amendment on this matter. Some of these issues may have cross-departmental implications and these need to be considered also.