Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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34. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her plans to amend the Civil Registration Act 2004; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50608/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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On 19 July, 2013, the Cabinet approved the drafting of the Civil Registration (Amendment) Bill 2013. I brought this proposal for legislation to the Cabinet as there are a number of important policy issues that I want to see implemented through amendments to the 2004 Act. Two of the principal ones are as follows: the introduction of measures to combat marriages of convenience by making such marriages far more difficult to contract in the future; the establishment of a birth registration process which will make it an obligation to include the father’s particulars on a birth certificate so as to ensure that the child will have a record of their father.

The Bill will also provide for a wide range of issues relating to the registration of life events in the State. Representations and recommendations have been made by various groups and organisations since the enactment of the Civil Registration Act 2004 and this Bill seeks to address these issues. The General Register Office, which administers the Civil Registration Service, has identified areas where legislative amendments are required to streamline the service to the general public. The Department is currently working with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government on the drafting of the heads of a Bill and I hope to introduce legislation early next year.

It should also be noted that the Civil Registration Act 2004 will be further amended through gender recognition legislation which I intend to introduce early next year. I published the General Scheme of the Gender Recognition Bill 2013 on 17 July 2013, following Cabinet approval. The Bill provides for the recognition of the acquired gender of transgender people aged 18 and over and who are not married or in a civil partnership. The General Scheme of the Bill was discussed at hearings of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection last month. Officials from the Department of Social Protection, representative groups and legal and medical experts participated in the hearings. The 2004 Act will be amended to provide for a gender recognition register.