Legislation to reform Ireland’s Civil Registration System enacted

• New reforms to enable families to register births and deaths online for the first time
• Changes to support families impacted by the loss of a stillborn baby
• Interim Death Certificate to support families where a Coroner’s Inquest has not concluded

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:

Also commenting today, Minister of State Joe O’Brien said:

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:

• Online registration of births, deaths and stillbirths.
• Electronic notification of deaths to the State.
• The issuing of an interim death certificate where a death has been referred to a Coroner and the Coroner has not completed their investigation.
• Allowing a coroner to refer a death back to a hospital or medical practitioner where the Coroner is satisfied that no investigation is required.
• An update to the criteria for a stillbirth to reflect advances in clinical care and foetal viability and the creation of an optional publicly accessible Record of Stillbirths, and greater access to the Register of Stillbirths for family members.
• The updating of existing references in the Civil Registration Act 2004 to corrections, cancellations, amendments, offences, penalties and information required to register a life event to cater for birth, death and stillbirth registrations created online and a change to allow the GRO to provide guidance on registration matters to all civil registration staff.
• The sharing of information from the Minister for Health to an tArd-Chláraitheoir in relation to the birth of donor-conceived children as set out in the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015.
• A technical amendment to Section 6 of the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2004, needed to facilitate commencement of provisions relating to the compulsory registration fathers’ names on birth certificates.
• A technical amendment to Section 51 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, relating to eligibility for Maternity Benefit, will replace the definition of a stillbirth with a reference to the definition of a stillbirth in the Civil Registration Act 2004.