Officials of the Office of Public Works will meet officials from of the office of the Chief Registrar next Tuesday to discuss the feasibility of using a room in Dublin Castle for civil marriages.
The Minister of State responsible for the OPW, Mr Martin Cullen, told The Irish Times that there were a number of logistical problems, given the volume of civil marriages. He and his officials would do what they could to facilitate the registrar.
The demand for a new venue for civil marriages in Dublin arises out of the proposed closure of the register office in Molesworth Street next month when the present registrar, Mr Gordon Kerr Johnson, retires. Some couples have objected to a proposed venue in Joyce House, Lombard St.
People who are planning civil marriages later this year objected on RTE's Liveline programme on Wednesday to Lombard Street because of a lack of parking facilities, the number of people queuing there for birth and death certificates, and the general ambience of the building.
A spokeswoman for the Eastern Health Board, which is taking over the running of civil marriages in Dublin, said it was asked to do so by the Department of Health in April. "We had to look for a place that was central, could take up to 30 people and was wheelchair accessible," she said.
The board's choice was Sir Patrick Dun's Hospital, which is having a large room refurbished for the purpose. But this will not be available until January. In the meantime, the board has to use the third floor of its Lombard Street premises. She said the board received a number of calls about the venue yesterday, and they were two-to-one supportive of the Lombard Street office.