LAST UPDATE | 18 Apr

REFORMS TO THE Civil Registration System will give families the option of recording stillbirths on a public register for the first time.

The Department of Social Protection said updates to the Civil Registration Bill are designed to increase the access to the Register of Stillbirths, while respecting the privacy of families.

An optional public Record of Stillbirths, which will be publicly available, will be established for those who wish to avail of it.

These changes will also be available retrospectively in cases where families have experienced a stillbirth in the past.

The criteria for a stillborn baby will also be reduced to reflect advances in clinical care.

The current criteria permits registration where the stillborn child weights at least 500 grams or reaches a gestational age of 24 weeks.

The new proposals reduce these thresholds to 400 grams and 23 weeks respectively. 

‘We want to celebrate them’

Nina Doyle is a regional coordinator for Féileacáin.

Féileacáin was formed by a group of bereaved parents to offer support to anyone affected by the death of a baby around the time of birth.

Speaking to RTÉ, Doyle shared the story of the loss of her twins Liam and Grace.

Liam died shortly before birth, while Grace died shortly after birth.

This meant Liam was put on to the private stillbirth record, while Grace was given a birth and death certificate and is on a public record.

Doyle explained: “in generations to come, Grace would be fully traceable, but because Liam was stillborn, he would be private, which would mean that although they were twins, it would look like I only had one child – Grace.”

She said she “can’t wait” to place Liam’s name onto the public register and that she is grateful for Minister Humphreys for listening to families like hers.

Doyle added: “What they have come up with is something that will represent all parents, because it gives us a choice.

“Privacy is respected, but people will also be given the opportunity now to make it public.”

Doyle said the changes are “hugely important” to break the “stigma and taboo” of the past.”

“When there is a register that is hidden, it implies that your baby shouldn’t be spoken about,” said Doyle.

“We love talking about our children, we don’t want to hide them, we want to celebrate them, and this will enable us to do that.

“When the legislation changes, societal attitudes also will change.”

Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys said she wanted to “sincerely thank the parents and advocacy groups for working with us in relation to these reforms”.

Other changes

Elsewhere, the Bill, which will now be brought before the Oireachtas, will allow families to register the birth or death of a loved one online.

The reforms will also allow an interim death certificate to be issued to families in cases where a Coroner’s Inquest has not been concluded.

Minister Humphreys said the changes are “about giving people greater flexibility when it comes to registering major life events and are designed to bring Ireland in line with the practices in place in other countries”.

She noted that the current system was introduced in 1864 and remarked that “now is the time for it to be modernised to make life easier for people”.

The Department of Social Protection noted that that one of the main features of the Bill is to facilitate the online registration of births, stillbirths and deaths and to provide for electronic notification of all deaths in the State.

The service will also be available to the next-of-kin of a deceased person to register a death online.

Currently, deaths are notified manually to the next-of-kin, who then has up to three months to register the death.

If the death is not registered, there is no official notification to the State that the death has occurred.

These reforms mean deaths will be electronically notified to the General Register Office within five working days from the date of death, and the next-of-kin will be notified of their duty to register the death within 28 days using either the existing in-person service or the new online facility.

Bereaved families will be able to receive an interim death certificate confirming the death of their loved one for the purposes of administering a deceased person’s affairs in cases where the death is subject to an ongoing investigation or inquiry by a coroner.