The unmarried parents of a baby girl told the High Court yesterday that the birth was registered without their knowledge in the mother's name while they wanted her to be registered in her father's.
Mr Philip Healy, an engineer, and Ms Eileen Murphy, a public health nurse, of Alma Park, Monkstown, Co Dublin, were granted leave by Mr Justice Geoghegan to apply for an order to quash the registration of the birth of their baby daughter, Julia Ellen, born on March 16th, 1998.
The order is against the registrar general of births and the superintendent of births in the Dublin area.
The couple also secured leave to seek a declaration that the registration was not made in accordance with law, to seek to have the registration cancelled and a fresh registration made entering Julia Ellen's surname as Healy.
Mr Giollaiosa O Lideadha, for the couple, said the child was born in the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, and the parents had made it clear they, and not the hospital, should register the birth.
The parents claim, as a result of an error or misunderstanding on the hospital's part, the birth was registered on foot of information provided by a hospital employee. The father's particulars were not included and the girl was assigned the mother's surname, in breach of the couple's declared wishes.
Mr O Lideadha said the hospital had been more than helpful since the problem arose.