Garda Síochána Act, 1989

Registration of certain births and deaths occurring outside the State.

4.— (1) The Minister may by regulations, made with the consent of the Minister for Health, provide for the keeping of a record of—

(a) the death of a member of the Garda Síochána.

(b) the death of the spouse or any of such other members of the family of a member of the Garda Síochána as may be specified in the regulations, and

(c) the birth of a child of a member of the Gards Síochána

occurring outside the State while the member of the Garda Síochána is serving outside the State with an International United Nations Force and, as respects a death referred to in paragraph (b) of this subsection or a birth, in such circumstances as may be specified in the regulations.

(2) Records kept pursuant to regulations made under this section shall be—

(a) authenticated in such manner as may be specified in the regulations by such person as may be specified for that purpose in the regulations, and

(b) transmitted to an tArd-Chláraitheoir in such manner as may be specified in the regulations.

(3) (a) An tArd-Chláraitheoir shall maintain a register to be known as the Garda Síochána Deaths Register Book (in this section referred to as the Deaths Book) and shall cause an entry to be made in the Deaths Book of each record of a death transmitted to him under this section.

(b) An tArd-Chláraitheoir shall maintain a register to be known as the Garda Síochána Births Register Book (in this section referred to as the Births Book) and shall cause an entry to be made in the Births Book of each record of a birth transmitted to him under this section

(c) An entry made under paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection shall be in such form as may be specified in the regulations under this section and shall contain such particulars as may be specified in those regulations.

(d) The Deaths Book and the Births Book shall, for the purposes of the Births and Deaths Registration Acts, 1863 to 1987, be deemed to be register books within the meaning of those Acts, but paragraph (3) of section 27 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act (Ireland), 1880, shall in its application to the Deaths Book and the Births Book have effect as if—

(i) “upon payment of the appointed fee, and” were deleted, and

(ii) the reference therein to a statutory declaration made by one or more persons required by that Act to give information concerning the birth or death referred to in that paragraph were a reference to a statement in writing made by a person specified under paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section.

(4) An tArd-Chláraitheoir shall keep at his office an index to the Deaths Book and an index to the Births Book; and persons shall be entitled to search the indices and to have a certified copy of an entry in the Deaths Book or the Births Book or of items contained in the entry on the same terms and conditions in all respects as to fees and otherwise as are applicable under the Births and Deaths Registration Acts, 1863 to 1987 or any other enactment in respect of the registers of births and deaths; and such fees shall be collected and disposed of in the same manner as fees payable under the said recited Acts.

(5) Every regulation made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next subsequent 21 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.