Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies who contributed to the discussion this afternoon. I appreciate the support of Deputies across the board for progressing the measures contained in this Bill, which will have a positive impact on the interactions that citizens have with the State civil registration service and will greatly assist in the modernisation of the service. The introduction of online registration of births, deaths and stillbirths will allow a greater level of flexibility and robustness to parents and bereaved families as they carry out the registration duties that the State requires of them. The new system will operate in parallel with the current service operated by the HSE. This will ensure an in-person service is available to those who would prefer to use it. The notification of all deaths to the State will provide a timely and accurate flow of information and will ensure important data is available to any future development work in this area.

The introduction of lower criteria for assigning stillbirth status, and the new arrangements around multiple stillbirths, will be welcomed by families dealing with the sad loss of their child or children. These changes, coupled with a more accessible register of stillbirths and an open record of stillbirths, will also provide for information around the sad loss to be more available should the parents wish it. The introduction of an interim death certificate will be of assistance to those families who currently must wait until the inquiries into the circumstances of the death of their loved ones are fully complete. The other amendments in this Bill, though mainly technical, will significantly improve the integration of the online and in-person registration services. The changes I am introducing in this Bill will provide for a more streamlined and modern civil registration service to the public. I commend this Bill to the House.

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