£7m on-line plan for births, deaths and marriages
Saturday August 14 1999
The Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Dermot Ahern announced the massive joint project yesterday to be undertaken by his department and the Department of Health and Children at a price tag of £7.3m. The project will revolutionise the process of acquiring certificates by the end of 2001.
The present framework for civil registration was set down in the last century in various acts from 1855 onwards. There has been little change to the basic procedures and structures since that time.
``The proposed level of expenditure demonstrates the Government's commitment to improving and modernising the provision of public services and the delivery of a quality customer service. The modernised service will make it easier for people to acquire birth, marriage and death certificates and in time resolve the problematic queueing and delays,'' said Mr Ahern.
The modernisation programme will involve the reform of legislation relating to the registration of births, deaths and marriages, the introduction of modern technology, the design and development of a new organisation structure and new registration processes and procedures.
All civil registration details will be placed on a national computerised database which will be accessed directly by government officials processing claims and applications. Hard copies of certs can be obtained if desired, from local public service offices exactly where has yet to be decided.
Expected to be launced in the last quarter of 2001, the new system will make the production of certificates for passports and social welfare services unnecessary as all the relevant offices will have access to details from the database. ``We have all had the experience of having to queue for our certs at some stage in our lives and the reaction to this new project has been very positive from all quarters. It will speed up things greatly and will be a wonderful improvement on the service we now have,'' said a Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs spokesperson.
Among the key benefits of the overhaul are:
* An improved customer service
* Local registration and local production of certificates
* Customer friendly processes and procedures
* Reduced queues, quicker service and easier access
* A civil registration services utilising modern technology
* Modern body of legislation
* Financial savings
* Creation of a platform for the development of an improved genealogy service
* Information relating to divorce and nullity, as vital events, will be available via the Civil Registration Service.
- ISABEL HURLEY
