Securing Irish death certificate for fatalities abroad raised in Seanad

The problems facing Irish people seeking to have the deaths of relatives abroad registered at home was highlighted in the Seanad.

Fine Gael Senator Catherine Noone referred to the case of Bernadette Goodwin whose five-year-old son Keith Charles was drowned in an accident in Spain in 1972.

She said Ms Goodwin, who was present in the public gallery, had spent decades trying to get Keith’s death registered in Dublin and acquire a death certificate as an Irish citizen.

“For insurance, legal and perhaps industrial reasons, a death cannot be registered twice in the EU, or in two countries,’’ Ms Noone added.

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Record of deaths

She said it was owed to people like Ms Goodwin to expedite the provision in the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014 which provided for a record of deaths abroad to be maintained by the general register office.

“As it stands, this section of the legislation has not commenced and I understand there may be administrative or staffing reasons for this situation,’’ Ms Noone added.

Minister of State for Finance Eoghan Murphy said the operation of the provision came under the remit of the civil registration service in the Health Service Executive.

“Industrial relations issues within the civil registration service are currently being addressed and the provision will be commenced when they have concluded,’’ he added.

Mr Murphy said he would raise the matter with Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar.