VITAL STATISTICS AND BIRTHS, DEATHS AND MARRIAGES REGISTRATION ACT, 1952

AN ACT TO AUTHORISE THE COLLECTION AND PUBLICATION OF VITAL STATISTICS AND TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE ACTS RELATING TO THE REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS, DEATHS AND MARRIAGES. [10th June, 1952.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

1 Minister.

1.—In this Act, “the Minister” means the Minister for Health.

2 Vital statistics.

2.—(1) Statistics in relation to the following matters shall be vital statistics for the purposes of this section:—

• (a) births,

• (b) deaths,

• (c) marriages,

• (d) any other matters (including, in particular, foetal deaths) which the Minister may by regulations appoint to be matters as respects which statistics relating thereto shall be vital statistics.

• (2) The Minister may collect, compile, abstract and publish vital statistics.

• (3) The Minister may by regulations provide for giving effect to this section and the regulations may, in particular, include—

• (a) in the case of any birth, death or marriage, provisions requiring that specified information relating to the birth, death or marriage, shall, on or within a specified period after the registration thereof, be furnished to the registrar,

• (b) in the case of any other matter as respects which statistics relating thereto are vital statistics, provisions requiring that specified information relating to the matter shall, within a specified period, be furnished to a specified person,

• (c) provisions for the recording of information received pursuant to the regulations and the transmission thereof to the Minister or any other specified person.

• (4) Where a person contravenes (whether by act or omission) any provision of regulations under this section which is stated to be a penal provision, he shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

• (5) No person engaged in receiving information furnished pursuant to regulations under this section or in the collection, compilation, abstraction or publication of vital statistics shall disclose any such information as relating to any identifiable person unless the disclosure is to another person so engaged or is necessary for the purposes of any prosecution under this Act and, if any person contravenes this subsection, he shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

• (6) In lieu of acting by his own officers for the purposes of this section and the regulations thereunder, the Minister may arrange with any other Minister—

• (a) for the collection, compilation, abstraction and publication by the officers of that Minister of any vital statistics, or

• (b) for the performance by those officers of any functions or services relating to powers conferred by this section or the regulations thereunder.

• (7) The provisions made by or under this section shall not affect any obligation to give information in relation to a birth, death or marriage or any other matter which is imposed by or under any other enactment.

3 Change of titles.

3.—The titles of the offices provided under section 52 of the Marriages (Ireland) Act, 1844, and section 4 of the Registration of Births and Deaths (Ireland) Act, 1863, are each hereby changed to Oifig an Ard-Chláraitheora and the title of the person appointed under those sections for those offices is hereby changed to an tArd-Chláraitheoir.

4 Appointment of days and hours for searches in Oifig an Ard-Chláraitheora.

4.—(1) The enactments to which this subsection applies shall be construed as entitling persons to make the searches referred to in those enactments only on such days, and during such periods on those days, as the Minister may appoint by regulations.

• (2) The enactments to which subsection (1) of this section applies are:—

• (a) section 70 of the Marriages (Ireland) Act, 1844,

• (b) section 50 of the Registration of Births and Deaths (Ireland) Act, 1863, and

• (c) section 17 of the Registration of Marriages (Ireland) Act, 1863.

5 Registration of birth—removal of time limit for registration of name or of alteration of name.

5.—(1) Section 8 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act (Ireland), 1880, is hereby amended by the substitution of “at any time” for “within twelve months next after the registration of the birth” and by the insertion of “or who is for the time being in charge of the records relating to the baptism of the child” after “was given or altered”.

• (2) Where, by virtue of subsection (1) of this section, a certificate under section 8 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act (Ireland), 1880, is signed by the person who is for the time being in charge of the records relating to the baptism of the child, the certificate shall be in the Form A in the First Schedule to that Act modified as follows:—

• (a) “there was baptised, as shown by the records of baptisms in my charge,” shall be substituted for “I baptised”,

• (b) “to me” shall be deleted.

6 Abridged certificate of birth, death or marriage.

6.—(1) The Minister may by regulations provide for the issue, as respects any entry in a register of births, deaths or marriages, of a certificate of such items contained in the entry as may be specified in the regulations,

• (2) Regulations under this section shall, subject to the sanction of the Minister for Finance, provide for the fee to be paid for the issue of a certificate pursuant to the regulations.

7 Modification of certain forms.

7.—(1) The Minister may by regulations modify any of the forms to which this subsection applies.

• (2) The forms to which subsection (1) of this section applies are:—

• (a) the form for a register of marriages set out in Schedule G annexed to the Marriages (Ireland) Act, 1844,

• (b) the form for a certificate of marriage set out as Form A in the Schedule annexed to the Registration of Marriages (Ireland) Act, 1863,

• (c) the form for a certificate of marriage set out in the Schedule annexed to the Matrimonial Causes and Marriage Law (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1871.

8 Removal of limits on certain sums and fees.

8.—(1) Section 8 of the Marriages (Ireland) Act, 1844, is hereby amended by the deletion of “the sum of five shillings” and the substitution therefor of “such sum as may from time to time be appointed in that behalf by his Presbytery”.

• (2) Section 10 of the Marriages (Ireland) Act, 1844, is hereby amended by the deletion of “a fee of one shilling” and the substitution therefor of “such fee as may from time to time be appointed in that behalf by the Presbytery”.

• (3) Section 35 of the Matrimonial Causes and Marriage Law (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1870, is hereby amended by the deletion of “not exceeding the sum of five shillings” and of “not exceeding one shilling”.

9 Alteration of amounts of certain fees, sums and allowances.

9.—(1) Where a provision of any of the Acts to which this subsection applies fixes the amount of any fee or sum (being a sum in the nature of a fee), the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, by regulations alter the amount of the fee or sum.

• (2) The Acts to which subsection (1) of this section applies are:—

• (a) the Births and Deaths Registration Acts, 1863 to 1936, and

• (b) the Marriages (Ireland) Act, 1844, the Marriage Law (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1863, the Registration of Marriages (Ireland) Act, 1863, the Matrimonial Causes and Marriage Law (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1870, and the Registration of Marriages Act, 1936 (No. 35 of 1936).

• (3) Where a provision of any Act (not being an Act to which subsection (1) of this section applies) fixes the amount or limit of any fee for a certificate of birth, death or marriage, the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance and of such Minister as is responsible for the administration of the Act, by regulations alter the amount or limit of the fee.

• (4) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, by regulations alter—

• (a) the amount of the allowance payable under section 3 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1936 (No. 34 of 1936), and

• (b) the amount of the allowance payable under section 2 of the Registration of Marriages Act, 1936 (No. 35 of 1936).

10 Public assistance authority to be superintendent registrar.

10.—(1) Where a vacancy in the office of superintendent registrar for a district exists on the commencement of this section or occurs subsequently—

• (a) the public assistance authority under the Public Assistance Act, 1939 (No. 27 of 1939), within whose functional area the district is situate shall thereafter be the superintendent registrar for the district,

• (b) sections 22 and 53 of the Registration of Births and Deaths (Ireland) Act, 1863, and section 20 of the Registration of Marriages (Ireland) Act, 1863, shall cease to have effect in relation to the district,

• (c) section 26 of the Registration of Births and Deaths (Ireland) Act, 1863, and sections 21 and 22 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act (Ireland), 1880, shall cease to have effect in relation to the district so far as those sections relate to deputy, assistant and interim superintendent registrars.

• (2) Where—

• (a) on the commencement of this section a person holds the office of interim superintendent registrar for a district, and

• (b) such person was, on the 13th day of February, 1952, neither an officer or servant of a local authority nor in receipt of a superannuation allowance from a local authority,

subsection (1) of this section shall, as respects that district, have effect with the substitution of “Where a person who on the commencement of this section holds the office of interim superintendent registrar for a district ceases to hold that office” for “Where a vacancy in the office of superintendent registrar for a district exists on the commencement of this section or occurs subsequently”.

11 Repeal of existing provisions for publication of annual records of births, deaths and marriages.

11.—Section 56 of the Marriages (Ireland) Act, 1844, section 49 of the Registration of Births and Deaths (Ireland) Act, 1863, and section 16 of the Registration of Marriages (Ireland) Act, 1863, are hereby repealed.

12 Laying of regulations before Houses of Oireachtas.

12.—Every regulation under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as conveniently may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

13 Expenses.

13.—The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be defrayed out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

14 Commencement.

14.—This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by order or orders of the Minister either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions of this Act.

15 Short title, construction and collective citation.

15.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Vital Statistics and Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act, 1952.

• (2) The Births and Deaths Registration Acts, 1863 to 1936, and so much of this Act as relates to registration of births and deaths shall be construed together as one Act and may be cited together as the Births and Deaths Registration Acts, 1863 to 1952.