Press release
Legislation to reform Ireland’s Civil Registration System enacted
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys TD, and Minister of State, Joe O’Brien TD, have today announced that the Civil Registration (Electronic Registration) Bill 2024 has been signed into law by the President.
Under the Civil Registration (Electronic Registration) Bill 2024, families will be facilitated in registering the birth or death of a loved one online for the first time.
The reforms will allow an interim death certificate to be issued to families in cases where a Coroner’s Inquest has not been concluded.
And following consultation with parents and advocacy groups, Minister Humphreys is introducing changes to support families who have experienced a stillbirth.
These changes are designed to increase the access to the Register of Stillbirths while still respecting the privacy of their families and loved ones.
An optional public Record of Stillbirths, which will be publicly available, will be established for those who wish to avail of it.
These changes will be available retrospectively in cases where families have suffered a stillbirth in the past.
In welcoming the passing of the Bill, Minister Humphreys said:
“I am very pleased that this landmark legislation has now been enacted.
“These reforms are about giving people greater flexibility when it comes to registering major life events and are designed to bring Ireland in line with the practices in place in other countries.
“One of the areas which we have carefully considered is how we can support families impacted by the devastating loss of a stillborn baby and I want to sincerely thank the parents and advocacy groups for working with us in relation to these reforms. In particular, I want to thank Féileacáin for their engagement with me on this Bill.
“I’m pleased to announce that the criteria for a stillborn baby will be reduced to reflect advances in clinical care and there will be a broadening of access to the Register of Stillbirths and also an optional public Record of Stillbirths will be established.”
Also commenting today, Minister of State Joe O’Brien said:
“This law, once signed, will provide ease of access to the registration process for people dealing with a range of life events from registering a birth to having to face the death registration process. Ultimately, this Bill embraces technological advancements to make many of the big life moments we all face, easier to access and navigate.”
One of the main features of the Bill is to facilitate the online registration of births, stillbirths and deaths and to provide for electronic notification of all deaths in the State. The existing process of in-person registration for births and deaths will remain in place for those persons who wish to avail of it.
The new online service, which will be available for births in August and deaths at a later date, will make use of technology to provide a more flexible civil registration process and will be of value to parents of new-born children who may find it more convenient to use an online service to register the birth of their child.
The service, following development work, will also be available to the next-of-kin of a deceased person to register a death online.
The new online registration service will be available to people who have an authenticated SAFE identity (in the form of a Public Services Card issued by the Department of Social Protection) and a verified MyGovID account and will operate in parallel with the existing in-person civil registration service provided by the HSE.
Currently deaths in the State are notified manually to the next-of-kin who then has up to three months to register the death. If the death is not registered, there is no official notification to the State that the death has occurred.
Under the provisions of the Bill, deaths will be electronically notified to the General Register Office within 5 working days from the date of death and the next-of-kin will be then notified of their duty to register the death within 28 days using the existing in-person service or the new online facility when developed. This will help ensure accurate and timely gathering of death information.
Bereaved families will be able to receive an interim death certificate confirming the death of their loved one for the purposes of administering a deceased person’s affairs in cases where the death is subject to an ongoing investigation or inquiry by a coroner.
The criteria for a stillborn baby will be reduced to reflect advances in clinical care and there will be a broadening of access to the Register of Stillbirths.
Notes to Editor:
The Bill will provide for the provision of: