Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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158. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans to alter the section of the Civil Registration Act 2004 dealing with the registration of births (details supplied); if she agrees that this situation is causing distress to such separated mothers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38117/15]

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Under section 46 of the Status of Children Act 1987, there is a presumption that the spouse is the father of a child. Section 22 of the Civil Registration Act 2004 requires that, in order to support a declaration that the spouse is not the father of the child, it is required to have separation, divorce or nullity papers, a rebuttal from the spouse that he is not the father, or a court order that names a man other than the spouse as the father. In the case where the spouse is not contactable, or does not make a declaration that he is not the father of the child, and in the absence of legal documentation a situation arises where the birth cannot be registered unless the spouse is registered as the father of the child.

The Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014, in Section 6, addresses this position and makes it less onerous on the mother to rebut the paternity presumption. Section 6 of the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014 addresses this position and makes it less onerous on the mother to rebut the presumption of paternity by the provision of information, particulars and evidence accompanied by a statutory declaration which satisfies the registrar that she has been living apart from the husband during the period of 10 months ending immediately before the birth of the child.

This section of the Act is due to be commenced in the coming weeks.