Civil Registration Service
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-11
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Jerry Buttimer (FG), Cork South-Central

I thank Senator Keogan for raising the matter. We all welcome the commencement of section 6, which will provide an opportunity for all father's names to be recorded in the register of births. As Senator Keogan knows, the number of birth registrations that do not contain a father's name is very low. It stands at less than 3%. However, it is the Government's view that, where possible, all children should have the right to know the details of both of their parents.
I remind everybody in the House that the new section will allow for circumstances whereby the mother can provide a statutory declaration to the registrar if she is unable to provide a name of the father. This provides a welcome safeguard for the mother and a mechanism whereby the registrar or superintendent registrar will have oversight of the implementation of this provision. The commencement of section 6 will also complete the commencement of all sections of the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014 in relation to the registration and re-registration of births. I thank Senator Keogan again for raising this matter.

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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