Civil Registration Service
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-11
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Sharon Keogan (IND), Industrial and Commercial Panel

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House again. I thank him for attending this morning. I regret, however, that I must raise this issue yet again. Section 6 of the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014 remains uncommenced, despite assurances from the Government that it would be operational by the end of quarter 2 of this year. We are now at the close of quarter 4 and there is still nothing. This is my fifth time bringing this matter before the House. An entire ten years has passed since this legislation was agreed. The technical error was corrected in 2024 and the Government assured us last February that training would be completed and that we would see commencement by mid-2025. The promise has not been honoured.
The delays are not a mere administrative inconvenience; they have a real human cost. For a decade, unmarried fathers have been denied the right to have their names recorded on their children's birth certificates. This affects legal rights, identity and the ability of children to trace their lineage. In 2014, 37% of children were born outside marriage. By 2022, that figure rose to over 43%. This is not a marginal issue; it affects thousands of families and thousands of fathers.
I am asking for clarity. Why has the commitment to commence section 6 by quarter 2 not been met? What specific obstacles remain? When will the provision finally come into force? What steps will the Minister of State take to ensure this House is not debating the same question in another six months? Families have waited long enough and fathers have waited long enough. This level of delay would be farcical if it were not for the human damage it has caused in the past decade. It is time for action and no further excuses.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-12-11/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:27+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-11