Annual report of An tArd-Chláraitheoir to
the Minister for Social Protection on the
operation of the Civil Registration Acts
for 2022
June 2023
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. CIVIL REGISTRATION
Introduction
1
Summary of registration activity during 2022
2
Civil registration in Ireland
4
Focus of work
4
2. ACTIVITY
Births
8
Stillbirths
11
Domestic adoptions
Birth Information and Tracing
11
12
Gender Recognition
12
Marriages
13
Register of solemnisers
17
Places where marriages are conducted
18
Research facility
18
Deaths
20
Multi-lingual standard forms
22
3. OTHER MATTERS
Department’s Strategic Objectives 2020 - 2023
27
Governance
27
Civil Registration Policy
28
Ombudsman complaints
29
Data Protection
29
Appendix
Oifig an Ard-Chláraitheora
Ms. Heather Humphreys, T.D.
Minister for Social Protection
Áras Mhic Dhiarmada
Store Street
Dublin 1
June 2023
Dear Minister,
In accordance with the provisions of Section 11(1) of the Civil Registration Act 2004, I
hereby submit a report on the activities of the Civil Registration Service for the year
ended 31 December 2022.
Yours sincerely,
David Dillon
An tArd-Chláraitheoir
June 2023
1. CIVIL REGISTRATION
1
Introduction
I am pleased to submit my Annual Report on the operation of the Civil Registration Acts
for the period 1 January to 31 December 2022 pursuant to Section 11 (1) of the Civil
Registration Act 2004, as amended.
The Civil Registration Service (referred to as the “Service” in the remainder of this report)
operates under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection (“the Department”). The
General Register Office holds records of life events: births, deaths, marriages, civil
partnerships, stillbirths and adoptions in Ireland. It also holds several sets of records
relating to life events which are historic in nature.
Under the Act, local registration services are provided by the Health Service Executive
(HSE) through the Civil Registration Service with offices located nationally delivering
registration services directly to the public.
As well as fulfilling its primary function as an Annual Report to the Minister for Social
Protection, I hope that the Report will be helpful to people in providing an insight into the
work of the Service.
My predecessor Mr. TJ Fleming held the office of An tArd Chláraitheoir for the period
covered by this Annual Report. Mr. Fleming retired in March 2023 and I wish him the very
best for his retirement.
The data presented in this report presents the activities of the Service during 2022. Where
feasible, the GRO has improved the presentation of data by reflecting both the number of
registrations that have been completed in the year and the date in which the life event
occurred.
David Dillon
An tArd Chláraitheoir
2
Summary of registration activity during 2022
During 2022, 118,060 key life events were registered and just over 405,000 certificates of
current and historic life events were issued by the Service – Tables 1 and 2 provide an
overview.
• The number of births registered in the year decreased by 1.3%.
• The number of deaths registered in the year increased by 8%.
• The number of marriages registered increased by 34% and exceeded pre-
pandemic levels.
Section 2 of this report provides more detailed information for each category of life event.
Table 1: Number of Life Event Registrations Recorded 2018-2022
Type
2019
2020
2021
2022
Births
60,173
56,145
58,627
57,848
Deaths
32,084
32,501
34,040
36,778
Marriages
20,335
9,536
17,231
23,187
Adoptions
79
77
103
102
Stillbirths
197
153
140
145
Total
112,868
98,412
110,141
118,062
The Eastern Registration Area, covering counties Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow accounted
for around one-third of all life events registered.
Table 2: Life Event registered by Registration Area 2022
Registration Area
Births
Deaths
Marriages
Eastern
17,999
31.1%
10,692
29.1%
7,502
32.4%
Mid-Western
4,487
7.8%
3,244
8.8%
1,800
7.8%
Midlands
3,481
6.0%
2,124
5.8%
1,283
5.5%
North-Eastern
9,312
16.1%
4,353
11.8%
2,723
11.7%
North-Western
2,821
4.9%
2,266
6.2%
1,598
6.9%
South-Eastern
6,500
11.2%
4,740
12.9%
2,806
12.1%
Southern
7,816
13.5%
5,485
14.9%
3,150
13.6%
Western
5,203
9.0%
3,758
10.2%
2,319
10.0%
GRO & other
registrars
229
0.4%
116
0.3%
6
<0.1%
Total
57,848
100%
36,778
100%
23,187
100%
3
Certificates issued by the Service are important documents for legal and a range of other
purposes. The number of certificates issued during 2022 is 3% greater than average in
2019 and 2018, so the 2022 figures are broadly in line with those years.
Table 3: Number of Certificates issued by Life Event Type 2018-2022
Type
2019
2020
2022
Birth
245,734
172,169
249,859
Death
92,946
88,710
102,789
Marriage
63,213
38,533
62,465
Adoptions
1,218
759
864
Stillbirth
419
270
382
Civil Partnership
74
60
86
Total
403,604
300,501
416,445
Table 4 presents an analysis of the country of origin of the applicant for certificates.
Applicants resident in the UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man and Channel Islands)
constitute the largest source of applications outside of Ireland.
Table 4: Certificates issued by Applicant Country and Life Event Type 2022
Country
Total
Share
Birth
Death
Marriage
Stillbirth
Ireland
351,472
84.40%
202,303
96,037
52,752
380
Great Britain
34,649
8.30%
25,653
3,791
5,205
0
United States
16,574
4.00%
13,652
1201
1721
0
EU/EEA
5,950
1.40%
4,283
650
1017
0
Australia
2,589
0.60%
1767
313
508
1
South Africa
1,768
0.40%
1191
255
322
0
Canada
1,515
0.40%
1120
120
275
0
Nrn. Ireland
1,463
0.40%
393
383
687
0
New Zealand
464
0.10%
361
39
64
0
All others
11,416
2.70%
7861
1567
1985
3
Totals Issued
427,860
100.00%
258,584
104,356
64,536
384
Notes: Great Britain includes the Channel Islands & Isle of Man: Births includes 864 Adoption
Certificates: Marriage includes 86 Civil Partnership Certificates issued during 2022.
4
Civil registration in Ireland
The civil registers create a legal document to establish and protect the identity and rights
of the person. Birth registrations automatically result in the allocation of a Personal Public
Service Number (PPSN) unique to each person which becomes the basis for identity and
all other services delivered by the Department and other public bodies.
There is a legal requirement on every person to notify the Service of certain life events,
such as births, marriages and deaths and to do this in a timely manner.
Registration data collected and recorded by the Service allows for the compilation of vital
statistics and the making of population and related projections by the Central Statistics
Office. Data is used for economic, social and infrastructural planning, as well as providing
a reliable and consistent data source for other Government Departments, public bodies,
and institutions engaged in the provision of services, the management of public health and
research.
Ireland has a well-developed and functioning civil registration and identity system which
meets European Union and United Nations obligations. Increasingly, digital technology is
enabling easier access for people to use and tailor public services to meet their needs.
The GRO is committed to the provision of registration services via customer focused online
technology. The Government has approved the drafting of legislation to enable online
registration of births and deaths and the necessary IT development work to support this
expansion is also in train.
Focus of work
The Service, and the registration data it collects, compiles, stores and shares, is
responsible for, or is a key contributor to:
• Creating a person’s official identity through the birth registration process and
ensuring integrity through the registration process
• Providing ongoing evidence of life events by means of supplying certificates and
verification of events registered and by validating certain life event records to a legal
standard
• Ensuring that current and historic records are preserved for future enquiry, enabling
research and preserving the value of records for future generations
5
• Ensuring the quality of registration data for use in the planning and design of public
policy and services, such as in the health, housing and education sectors; and
• Supporting the process of providing greater access to digital public services.
Identity
The registration of a birth is a fundamental legal act and the subsequent issue of the birth
certificate gives identity to a child in Ireland and in most societies. Following the
registration of a child, the Department of Social Protection will automatically allocate a
unique Personal Public Service number (PPSN) to the child. The PPSN is a unique
reference number that enables access to social welfare benefits, public services and
information in Ireland
1
.
Registration ensures that rights, such as an identity, citizenship and travel, can be
recognised and facilitated as well as providing access to services such as Child Benefit
2
,
child dependent payments to parents receiving social protection benefit and assistance,
other family entitlements, education and health care. As the child grows, they may require
a passport or driver licence. Eventually they will want to exercise their franchise to vote
and to seek employment.
Credible and verifiable identity enables State authorities to ensure the effective delivery of
public, social and legal services and to assist in mitigating the risk of fraud and
misrepresentation both domestically and internationally.
Evidence of life events
The provision of certificates of life events to members of the public represents a significant
activity for the Service. An average of nearly 370,000 certificates was issued per year over
the period 2018-2022.
1
https://www.gov.ie/en/service/12e6de-get-a-personal-public-service-pps-number/
2
Child Benefit is a monthly payment made by the Department to support parents and
guardians.
6
Certificates issued in Ireland are accepted domestically and internationally as evidence of
the facts stated on them. This has been enhanced by the use of multilingual standard forms
issued under EU Regulation ((EU) 2016/1191). This Directive became operational in 2019
and requires that member states of the EU provide citizens with a document in the
languages of the EU to explain the contents of Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates and
other legal documents.
The requirement to produce actual certificates for access to public services, particularly
social welfare services, continues to decline as improved digital services are deployed.
The nature of how life events are verified, without putting additional burdens on the service
user to provide paper certificates, continues to evolve with the development of digital
services and reform of how public services are delivered and the use of unique digital
identifiers.
An important feature of the work of the GRO is to provide proof that an event did not occur,
for example, where proof is required that a person did not marry within the State. The
widespread adoption of the Public Services Card
3
and electronic data-sharing between
public bodies provides further opportunities to improve how services can be accessed
more effectively and securely by members of the public. This has the additional benefit of
significantly reducing the burden on members of the public having to attend public body
offices, to repeatedly provide identity documentation and minimises the risk of error.
National statistics
The integrity, completeness and quality of life event data are essential for the preparation
and publication of national statistics, particularly those related to population. The Central
Statistics Office (CSO) (www.cso.ie) has the statutory function of preparing an annual
programme of population and vital statistics. Statistics and analysis published by the CSO
3
The Public Services Card (PSC) establishes and fully authenticates a person’s identity for the
purpose of accessing a range of public services in an easy and safe manner. See
https://psc.gov.ie/ for more information on the PSC.
7
include quarterly and annual summaries of vital statistics and popular Irish babies' names
collected from the registration process during the previous year
4
, death and mortality.
Alongside periodic population censuses, life event statistics form a central input to
estimating population size, population dispersal, family composition and trends considered
essential to economic and social planning and the management of public services.
Data recorded in the event of a person’s death contributes to identifying trends in diseases
and injuries enabling planning of preventive services and contributing to a better
understanding of mortality. A key challenge for registration services is to ensure that good
quality, complete, and consistent data is collected, stored for posterity and made available
in a timely manner to inform current and future design and implementation of public policy.
4
https://www.cso.ie/en/statistics/birthsdeathsandmarriages/
2. ACTIVITY
8
Births
The Service registered 57,848 births during 2022 – see Table 5. Table 6 provides data on
births that occurred in 2022 but were not registered until the first quarter of 2023.
Table 5: Live Births Registered in the Year* - 2018-2022
Year
Total Births
Male
Female
2017
62,919
32,303
51.3%
30,616
48.7%
2018
61,901
31,737
51.3%
30,164
48.7%
2019
60,173
30,719
51.1%
29,454
48.9%
2020
56,145
28,957
51.6%
27,186
48.4%
2021
58,627
29,922
51.0%
28,705
49.0%
2022
57,848
29,558
51.1%
28,290
48.9%
* Includes late registrations
Table 6: Births Registrations by Month of Birth*
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
January
5,169
5,166
4,977
4,746
4,928
February
4,565
4,438
4,365
4,676
4,242
March
5,128
4,696
4,766
5,093
4,451
April
4,721
4,755
4,496
4,881
4,205
May
5,169
5,008
4,685
4,732
4,273
June
5,020
4,712
4,684
4,918
4,541
July
5,293
5,239
5,079
5,288
4,683
August
5,192
5,278
4,823
5,187
4,705
September
5,249
5,092
4,949
5,334
4,769
October
5,180
5,111
4,828
5,226
4,689
November
5,231
5,015
4,662
5,059
4,442
December
5,130
4,801
4,490
5,218
4,423
TOTAL
61,047
59,311
56,804
60,358
54,351
* Includes registrations 1 Jan to 30 Apr 2023 in respect of births occurring in 2022.
Significant amendments to registrations following enquiry
The GRO conducted 196 enquires under section 65 of the Act in 2022. Statutory enquiries
are undertaken where an error, omission or other difficulty with a registration is identified
which cannot be corrected under any other provision of the Act. The following types of
cases accounted for the majority of the matters determined:
9
• Applications to remove the father’s details as it was proven that the person
registered as the father was not the biological father of the child
• Situations where the forename of a person was not entered in the register at the
time the initial birth registration was completed (the majority of these relate to
historic cases)
• Cases where the identity of the parents required to be regularised under Irish law,
and
• Where the registration particulars, typically historic, required correction to reflect an
accurate registration record.
Table 7: Section 65 Enquiries Conducted - Births 2018-2022
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Section 65 enquiries
264
263
233
220
196
Amendments to a father’s particulars will usually be made on the basis of evidence
provided by the applicant, including DNA, and statutory declarations made by the persons
involved and/or on foot of Family Court orders granted in paternity, custody and
maintenance proceedings.
Registration of Donor Assisted Human Reproduction (DAHR) births
The commencement of certain sections of the Child and Family Relationships Act 2015
has allowed the Service to both register and re-register the births of children born following
donor-assisted reproduction, (also known as Donor Assisted Human Reproduction -
DAHR).
These changes were introduced from 4th May 2020 and facilitate the recording of a non-
biological parent in the register of births as a parent of a child born because of a DAHR
procedure. The legal framework enables the non-biological parent to be re-registered as
the parent of the child whose birth has already been registered. An application recognising
the parent must be accompanied by a Court order naming the person as the legal parent
of the child.
Children born as a result of a DAHR procedure carried out after the 4th May 2020 can be
registered to include the non-biological parent as a parent along with the mother of the
child at the initial birth registration stage.
10
The number of DAHR re-registration applications received in 2022 was 51 (2021: 129): 47
of these births were re-registered in 2022. Of the remaining 4 were re-registered in early
2023. The number of DAHR registration applications received in 2022 was 322: 311 births
were registered in 2022, with 10 of these applications registered in early 2023 and 1
awaiting registration.
Late birth registrations
Section 19 of the Act imposes an obligation on a qualified informant, usually the parents,
to register the birth of the child within three months of the child’s date of birth. With few
exceptions, this legal requirement is complied with. The majority of late registrations are
for historic births where either the individual concerned discovered their birth was not
registered or where a descendant sought to register a birth, for example in cases involving
claims for Irish citizenship or as a result of genealogical research. The data shown in Table
8 mainly relates to registration of historic births.
Late registrations are defined in Section 20 of the Act as births registered more than 12
months after the birth occurred. The number of late registrations remains at relatively low
levels.
Table 8: Late Registration of Births 2018-2022
2019
2020
2021
2022
Number of cases
395
193
203
314
11
Stillbirths
Stillbirths are defined in the Act as a child who at birth shows no signs of life, weighs at
least 500 grammes or has a gestational age of not less than 24 weeks.
The registration of such births is voluntary - that is there is no legal requirement on parents
to register. The number of stillbirths registered in Ireland was 145 in 2022.
Table 9: Stillbirths Registered 2018-2022
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Stillbirths Registered
223
197
153
140
145
Domestic adoptions
Under the Adoption Acts, an Adopted Children Register is required to be maintained by an
tArd-Chláraitheoir. This register contains particulars of all domestic adoptions notified
since the Adoption Act 1952 commenced. This register is maintained in accordance with
section 22 of the Adoption Act 1952 and Section 84 of the Adoption Act 2010.
Entries in the register refer to children, who have not reached eighteen years of age, are
resident in Ireland and who were adopted by a person or couple also resident in Ireland.
The nature and effect of an Irish adoption order is that the child becomes the child of the
adopter(s) with all the rights and responsibilities transferred from the birth parents to the
adoptive parent(s).
The number of notifications sent by the Adoption Authority of Ireland to be registered during
2022 was 104 – an increase of 1 on the 103 orders received in 2021. Further information
and the annual reports of the Adoption Authority are available on https://aai.gov.ie.
Table 10: Adoptions Registered 2018-2022
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Domestic adoptions registered
81
79
77
103
104
Of which were:
male children
44
39
37
37
38
female children
37
40
40
66
66
The legal framework for adoptions provides that the partner of a child’s biological parent
can adopt a child without the need for the biological parent to also adopt the child. 62 of
the 104 adoptions registered in 2022 used this legal mechanism to adopt.
12
Table 11: Details of Adoptive Parents 2018-2022
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Joint adopters (couple)
47
24
21
31
34
Adoption by a partner
28
50
54
69
62
Sole adopter
6
5
2
3
8
Birth Information and Tracing
The Birth Information and Tracing Act was enacted on 30
th
June 2022, with changes to the
Civil Registration Act commencing on the 3
rd
October 2022. These changes dealt with the
issue of illegally registered births and assisting legally adopted persons to request a copy
of their birth certificates. The GRO are required to cancel the illegal entries, record the
details of the cancellations in a new register (the Register under Part 3B) and to amend or
create a registration in the register of births that reflects the correct birth details of the
affected person.
GRO continue to work with the Department of Children, Integration, Disability and Youth;
Tusla, the Adoption Authority of Ireland and representatives of those affected on ensuring
the provision of the Act are fully implemented and support is provided to those impacted
by the changes.
The Act also provides that both Tusla and the Adoption Authority of Ireland may provide a
tracing service for affected persons. GRO and Client Identity Services of the Department
in Carrick on Shannon assist both bodies with any such requests.
Gender Recognition
The Gender Recognition Act 2015 provides that a person can obtain a Gender Recognition
Certificate from the Department. A person whose birth has been registered and/or whose
adoption is registered in Ireland and has been issued with a Gender Recognition Certificate
may apply to the Service for this recognition to be entered in the Register of Gender
Recognition.
Subsequently, a person can be issued with a copy of their birth or adoption certificate
reflecting the entry in the Register of Gender Recognition. The register was established in
September 2015 with the first entries having been made in the register in 2016.
13
Table 12: New entries in the Register of Gender Recognition 2018-2022
2019
2020
2021
2022
Entries in register
102
71
108
165
Marriages
The number of marriages registered in Ireland during the year 2022 was 23,179 reflecting
the continuing public health restrictions. As indicated in previous reports, the proportion
of religious marriages registered declined over recent years. Given the continued impact
of Covid-19 restrictions, particularly in the earlier part of 2021, it is not clear if the changing
share of marriage that were religious, civil or secular in nature during 2022 is reflective of
any longer term trends.
Table 13: Marriages Registered 2019–2022– Form of Marriage Ceremony
2019
2020
2021
2022
Religious
11,906
58.5%
4,747
49.8%
9,727
56.5%
14,854
64.1%
Civil
6,410
31.5%
4,007
42.0%
5,987
34.7%
6,073
26.2%
Secular
2,019
9.9%
782
8.2%
1,517
8.8%
2,252
9.7%
Total
20,335
100%
9,536
100%
17,231
100%
23,179
100%
Although marriages are registered relatively quickly, those that occur later in the year are
not captured in the data presented in Table 13.
Table 14: Marriage by Month of Occurrence 2022*
Month in which marriage took place
Number of marriages
registered
January
521
February
548
March
609
April
755
May
883
June
1,498
July
2,366
August
2,551
September
2,379
October
2,126
November
1,370
December
1,841
14
*Marriages in 2022 registered between 1 January 2022 and 30 April 2023
The data presented in Table 15 provides a breakdown of marriages registered in the State
during 2022 with respect to the nationality of the parties.
Table 15: Nationality of Marriage Parties 2020 - 2022
2020
2021
2022
Both parties Irish
8,843
93%
13,391
78%
17,836
77%
One party Irish
213
2%
2,638
15%
3,778
16%
Both non-Irish
480
5%
1,202
7%
1,573
7%
Total
9,536
100%
17,231
100%
23,187
100%
The data presented in Table 16 provides a breakdown of registered marriages based on
the parties’ prior civil status.
Table 16: Previous Civil Status of Marriage Parties in 2020 - 2022
2020
2021
2022
Both parties single
7,968
83.56%
14,998
87.04%
20,225
87.23%
One party single the
other divorced
1,013
10.62%
1,498
8.69%
1,991
8.59%
Both parties
divorced
345
3.62%
461
2.68%
638
2.75%
One party single the
other widowed
91
0.95%
120
0.70%
162
0.70%
One party widowed
the other divorced
81
0.85%
107
0.62%
125
0.54%
Both parties civil
partners
13
0.14%
15
0.09%
12
0.05%
Both parties
widowed
19
0.20%
26
0.15%
23
0.10%
One party single
other a civil partner
7
0.07%
6
0.03%
6
0.03%
One party divorced
other civil
partnership
dissolved
0
0.00%
0
0.00%
5
0.02%
Total
9,536
100.0%
17,231
100.0%
23,187
100.0%
The Marriage Act 2015 provides for marriage of same-sex couples to be registered in
Ireland as marriages. Table 17 gives a breakdown of same-sex marriages by gender.
15
Table 17: Number of Same-sex Marriages Registered 2017–2022
Year
Total
Female
Male
2017
767
336
43.8%
431
56.2%
2018
668
294
44.0%
374
56.0%
2019
640
288
45.0%
352
55.0%
2020
314
170
54.1%
144
45.9%
2021
500
248
49.6%
252
50.4%
2022
618
313
50.6%
305
49.4%
Objections to marriage
Section 58 of the Act provides that an objection can be made to a proposed marriage and
also sets out how objections are to be managed. Other than objections related to a claim
that a marriage may be a marriage of convenience, no objections were made during 2022.
Marriages of convenience
A marriage of convenience is defined as a marriage entered into for the sole purpose of
securing an immigration advantage and has the effect of circumventing immigration
controls. Section 3(b) of the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014 created a new
impediment to a marriage where a marriage would constitute a marriage of convenience.
These measures have been operational since August 2015 and have had a significant
impact on the number of applications that meet the criteria.
Section 18 of the 2014 Act provides that where a registrar forms an opinion that an
intended marriage would constitute a marriage of convenience, the registrar is obliged to
make a report of the matter to the Superintendent Registrar. If the Superintendent
Registrar decides that the proposed marriage would constitute a marriage of convenience,
they are required to notify the Minister for Justice and Equality. The number of notifications
that met the criteria set out in the Act is set out in Table 18.
16
Table 18: Marriages of convenience: Nationality of Parties 2018–2022
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Irish and non-EU citizens
1,363
1,397
1,214
1,110
1,282
EU (non-Irish) and Non-EU citizens
369
426
325
319
306
Total
1,732
1,823
1,539
1,429
1,588
Table 19: Marriages Registered on Foot of Notifications in Table 18 2018–2022
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Irish and non-EU citizens
891
951
677
684
704
EU (non-Irish) and Non-EU citizens
234
293
205
205
183
Total
1,125
1,244
882
889
887
Proportion of marriage concluded
65%
68%
57%
62%
56%
Recognition of foreign divorces
An impediment to marriage exists if a divorce is not recognisable under Irish law as the
person is deemed to be still married. Foreign divorces and nullities are not automatically
entitled to recognition in the State. The Service examines foreign divorces of persons
seeking to re-marry in the State to determine whether the divorce is recognisable under
Irish law.
A person with a foreign divorce who wishes to marry under Irish law must have their
divorce(s) recognised. Divorces granted in EU member states (excluding Denmark) since
1 March 2001 are recognised in accordance with the Regulation ((EC) No 2201/2003) –
known as Brussels II. For divorces covered by the Regulation, the recognition process is
relatively straightforward, provided the documentation required by the regulation is in
order.
The regulation does not apply to divorces granted in EU member states before they
acceded to membership of the EU. Divorces granted outside the EU or before the member
state’s accession to the EU are recognised in accordance with the Domicile and
Recognition of Foreign Divorces Act 1986.
17
Table 20: Recognition of Foreign Divorces 2018–2022
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Applications received
1,142
1,240
982
939
1452
Finalised
979
1,074
710
823
1244
To be determined
163
166
272
116
208
In cases where the Service cannot decide or concludes that a divorce is not recognisable,
the applicant has recourse to the Circuit Family Court for a declaration recognising the
divorce under Irish law. Declarations made by a Court are binding on the State where the
Attorney General is joined as a notice party to proceedings.
Register of solemnisers
Marriages conducted in the State can only be solemnised by persons appointed under the
provisions of section 51 of the Act. Religious and secular solemnisers are nominated by
their religious and secular bodies. Civil registrars must be employed by the Health Service
Executive. The Act does not provide for the regulation of solemnisers; however, the form
of marriage ceremony must be approved by an an tArd-Chláraitheoir. Solemnisers are
required to operate within the rules and conventions of their nominating bodies, religious
and secular.
The General Register Office is required to maintain and publish a register of solemnisers.
The register is updated and published monthly. This register consists of names and contact
details of all solemnisers.
Table 19 shows the number of solemisers by main grouping at the end of December 2022
and at year end for previous years. Additionally, an tArd-Cláraitheoir temporarily
authorised a further 200 religious persons to solemnise marriage during 2022. These
authorisations are timebound and typically expire shortly after a marriage has been
conducted.
Table 21: Solemniser by Type 2018–2022
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Religious Solemnisers
5,674
5,589
5,400
5,412
5,457
Civil Solemnisers
123
114
117
118
125
Secular Solemnisers
31
37
34
43
49
Total
5,828
5,740
5,551
5,573
5,631
18
Places where marriages are conducted
Section 52 of the Act regulates the places where marriages can be conducted and the
requirement that the place of marriage must be open to the public. Religious marriages
are conducted at churches and places of worship in compliance with the rules in place for
each religious body. Secular marriages are generally held at public places selected by the
parties to the marriage and approved in advance by a marriage registrar.
With respect to civil ceremonies, a marriage can be held in a Registry Office or some other
venue that is approved by a registrar. Roughly three-quarters of civil marriages are
conducted in Civil Registry Offices. Other locations include hotels, places of historic or
cultural significance, State properties and civic buildings or sites.
Table 22: Venues used for Civil Marriage Ceremonies 2018–2022
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Registrar's offices
4,268
4,422
3,253
4,617
4,449
Other venues
2,011
1,988
754
1,369
1,618
Total civil marriage ceremonies
6,279
6,410
4,007
5,986
6,067
% at Outside Venues
32%
31%
19%
23%
27%
Research facility
The GRO maintains a family and genealogy research facility at Werburgh Street, Dublin 2
(the Research Room). This office enables members of the public to conduct family
research using the indices to the registers. Copies of records identified from the indices
are also supplied where required.
A summary of this activity is set out in Table 21.
Table 23: Activities of the Research Room 2018–2022
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
General searches undertaken
by the public
757
770
273
549
807
Specified searches
undertaken by the public
7,996
6,942
1,881
1,426
1,611
Uncertified copies of register
entries issued to the public
20,562
18,370
7,672
10,224
11,555
19
During the Covid-19 pandemic the research room was closed to the public and an
alternative method of allowing access to the indexes had to be provided. A new system
via a dedicated email service was created. This service allowed staff of the research room
to utilize an electronic version of the registration records ,which is not available to the
public, to provide a quicker and more efficient service at no additional cost to the customer.
The new email service allows greater speed and accuracy when dealing with searches,
and has proven to be extremely popular. The service is managed 5 days a week, it
accesses all of the civil registration records up to present day and customer searches are
frequently provided on a same day service.
Through a process of digitisation of historic registers, the Service has, with its partner, the
Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, continued during 2022
to prepare historic records for public release. Work on preparing the oldest death
registration records, those for 1865 to 1871, for online publication continued to be delayed
due to priorities associated with managing the impact of Covid-19 on other parts of the
service and the availability of technical resources.
Annual tranches of register records for birth, marriages and deaths continue to be made
available in January each year as they reach the legal threshold for release (designed to
protect the privacy of the living). The thresholds are: 100 years for births, 75 years for
marriages and 50 years for deaths. Over 16 million civil registration records are now
available online for members of the public anywhere in the World to access and research.
The service provides free access.
Table 24: Visits to civil records on www.irishgenealogy.ie during 2020 and 2022
Year
Number of Visits Recorded
2020
4,613,493
2021
4,316,112
2022
4,580,247
Source: Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
20
Deaths
The registration of deaths is regulated by Parts 5, 5A and 5B of the 2004 Act. New
legislative changes were introduced on 20th November 2020 enabled co-habitants to
register and be recognised as qualified informants in the Death Register. The Service was
also enabled to issue Certificates showing this relationship. Table 25 shows the number
of registrations in the year broken down by the year in which the death occurred.
Table 25: Annual registrations by year in which a death occurred 2017-2022
Total Registrations
Completed in Year
Year in Which Death Occurred
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
Earlier
2022
36,778
28,782
6,768
685
223
82
43
195
2021
34,040
27,671
5,375
614
168
46
165
2020
32,501
27,002
4,757
512
65
165
2019
32,087
26,426
4,703
623
334
2018
31,981
26,447
4,658
876
2017
31,302
25,763
5,539
Total Occurrences per Year
28,782
34,439
33,062
32,020
31,912
31,198
The Central Statistics Office is responsible for the publication of official mortality statistics
for Ireland. As deaths can be registered up to three months after the date of death, and
as registration of a death may be delayed where the death has been referred to a Coroner
for investigation or inquiry, the CSO publishes quarterly deaths approximately five months
after the end of a reference quarter. These initial quarterly publications are based upon
registration data. The CSO subsequently publishes annual statistics based on deaths by
date of occurrence, approximately 22 months after the end of a reference year
5
.
5
https://www.cso.ie/en/csolatestnews/presspages/2022/vitalstatisticsyearlysummary2021/
21
Table 26 presents data for deaths which occurred in the year but which were registered in
the period 1
st
January to the end of April of the following year.
Table 26: Death Registered 2018-2022 by Month of Occurrence
*
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
Total for year
33,352
32,742
32,669
31,895
31,860
January
3,120
3,993
3,061
3,068
3,508
February
2,719
3,204
2,776
2,641
2,878
March
2,936
2,627
2,993
2,713
3,026
April
3,004
2,487
3,665
2,539
2,627
May
2,785
2,549
2,727
2,702
2,436
June
2,641
2,282
2,250
2,446
2,341
July
2,628
2,468
2,276
2,375
2,409
August
2,523
2,437
2,386
2,369
2,315
September
2,469
2,476
2,410
2,467
2,380
October
2,689
2,728
2,762
2,675
2,555
November
2,643
2,758
2,546
2,757
2,628
December
3,195
2,733
2,817
3,143
2,757
Monthly average
2,779
2,729
2,722
2,658
2,655
*Includes registrations completed to 30
th
April of the subsequent year.
The Coroners Act 1962, as amended, requires that certain deaths are to be referred to a
coroner, for example where the death has occurred in suspicious circumstances, was
unexpected or unexplained.
The number of deaths registered on foot of a coroner’s certificate represented nearly
36.4% of all deaths registered during 2022 – see Table 27.
Table 27: Death Registered 2018-2022 by Qualified Informant/Coroner
Deaths registered as a result of
receipt of:
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
• Information from a qualified
informant
22,507
22,189
20,940
20,692
23,393
• A coroner’s certificate following
inquest or post-mortem
5,262
5,513
4,882
5,340
5,835
• A coroner’s certificate - no inquest
or post-mortem held
4,260
4,382
6,679
8,008
7,550
Total
32,029
32,084
32,501
34,040
36,778
22
Table 28: Death registered in 2020 and 2022 - Civil Status of Deceased
Civil Status
2020
2021
2022
Married
12,573
13,602
39.96%
14,381
39.10%
Widowed
10,911
11,201
32.91%
12,117
32.95%
Single (not married)
7,083
7,183
21.10%
7,902
21.49%
Divorced
976
1,054
3.10%
1,257
3.42%
Separated
791
822
2.41%
909
2.47%
Civil Partner
8
16
0.05%
17
0.05%
Unknown
159
162
0.48%
195
0.53%
Total
32,501
34,040
100.00%
36,778
100.00%
Delays in death registration
It is not always possible for families to register deaths in a timely manner. Although a small
number of such deaths relate to registrations of historic deaths, the majority relate to
deaths that occurred more recently. Enquiries made by the Service indicate that a
significant number of late registrations relate to persons who died and who did not have a
close family member, relative or friend who had sufficient knowledge of the deceased to
register the death.
Table 29: Number of late death registrations 2018–2022
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Late registrations by qualified
informants
1,303
1,472
1,500
1,677
1,864
Multi-lingual standard forms
EU Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 is aimed at promoting the free movement of European
citizens by simplifying the circulation and recognition of certain public documents between
EU and EEA member states. The use of multilingual standards for form and administrative
documents is designed to remove burdens and costs for citizens when they engage with
23
the authorities of another member state. The Regulation abolished the apostille
6
requirement between member states and simplifies formalities relating to certified copies
and translations removing costs for the user.
This Regulation covers public documents issued by the Service in the form of birth,
marriage, and death certificates. Other legal and administrative documents issued by
other public bodies within the State are also covered by the regulation.
6
An apostille is a legal certification that makes a document from one country valid in another (provided that both
are signatories to the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization for Foreign Public
Documents).
24
Table 30: Multilingual Standard Forms issued by language and type 2019-2022
Language
Births
Deaths
Marriage
2022
2021
2020
2019
Bulgarian
50
2
4
56
58
8
15
Croatian
497
63
16
576
479
167
181
Czech
64
-
21
85
47
23
36
Danish
6
-
-
6
5
-
1
Dutch
35
2
2
39
29
12
17
Estonian
1
-
1
2
1
-
-
Finnish
-
-
1
1
1
-
-
French
426
57
18
501
366
126
106
German
163
62
18
243
197
99
81
Greek
89
13
10
112
68
24
1
Hungarian
16
2
4
22
23
2
3
Italian
117
32
7
156
144
51
44
Latvian
19
5
8
32
5
2
-
Lithuanian
51
6
8
65
22
7
6
Maltese
-
2
-
2
1
-
-
Polish
282
51
58
391
304
61
32
Portuguese
137
25
6
168
72
44
31
Romanian
1261
92
40
1,393
923
122
74
Slovakian
68
35
9
112
108
34
66
Slovenian
17
4
-
21
2
3
-
Spanish
299
79
51
429
299
136
135
Swedish
2
-
-
2
1
-
1
Totals
3,600
553
261
4,414
3,155
921
830
25
Public documents issued in any member state must be accepted as authentic in another
member state without the need for further authentication or translation from one language
to another when accompanied with the translation aid specified by the Regulation. The
public documents covered which fall within the remit of the GRO are certificates of births,
deaths, marriages, and civil partnerships. The Service has capacity to provide MSFs in 22
EU languages (English excluded).
3. OTHER MATTERS
27
Department’s Strategic Objectives 2020 - 2023
The Department’s overall objective for 2020 to 2023 is to continue putting our clients at
the centre of all our operations, providing an efficient and effective service and to continue
developing our staff, structures and processes.
The Service operates under this Strategy and contributes to the delivery of the objectives.
The Department’s mission, high-level objectives and key actions are in delivering the
policies and priorities set down by the Minister for Social Protection and the Government.
The strategy identifies three Strategic Objectives for the Department for the period in
order to achieve its overall mission:
1. Put the client at the centre of policy and service delivery
2. Drive cost, efficiency and effectiveness
3. Develop staff, structures and processes.
The General Register Office contributed to the delivery of this strategy during 2022 with
particular focus on how it delivers services and supports its staff.
Governance
Ard Chláraitheoir
The functions of an tArd-Chláraitheoir are specified in the 2004 Act. These are to
maintain, manage and control the system of civil registration in the State, and to maintain
the registers, indexes and other records required to ensure an effective and efficient
system. Other functions are assigned under provisions of the Act and other Acts.
Programme Board
The work of the GRO is supported by a Programme Board comprising senior managers
of the Department. The Board met at regular intervals during 2022. This Board addresses
matters such as project oversight, Departmental co-ordination, policy and strategic
development, information technology infrastructure, audit and financial matters. The
Board is chaired by a member of the Department’s Management Board at Assistant
Secretary grade and includes senior staff from across the Department. The GRO reports
28
to several other Department Boards in respect of procurement, project governance, data
protection, internal audit, human resource management and IT development.
Health Service Executive
The HSE is required by the 2004 Act to appoint registrars and a Superintendent Registrar
to each registration area (often referred to as “districts”).
Each Superintendent Registrar is required to exercise functions to manage, control and
administer the Service in each registration area, under the overall management, control
and supervision of an tArd-Chláraitheoir. The Civil Registration Districts and the
Superintendents with responsibility for those areas are listed in the Appendix.
HSE Liaison
A standing committee comprising all Superintendent Registrars and management staff of
the GRO meet regularly to discuss and co-ordinate operational matters relating to
registration processes, customer support and planning of services. Additionally, the GRO
engages with senior HSE management on the strategic matters and the operations of the
Service.
Civil Registration Policy
The General Register Office has responsibility for the development and co-ordination of
civil registration and gender recognition policy. This role involves research, development
and the preparation of legislation and input to other areas of public policy development
and discussion where it impacts on civil registration matters.
The key areas of policy development over the course of 2022 focused on the following
key matters:
• Examination of aspects of the functioning of the Act to identify where
improvements could be made to service delivery.
• Responding to the recommendations of the Commission of Investigation into
Mother and Baby Homes, specifically where these were linked to practices around
birth registration and adoption in the institutions covered by the investigation.
29
• Continuation of work initiated to implement the recommendation of the statutory
review of the Gender Recognition Act 2015 (covered in a separate report on the
operations of that Act for 2022 prepared by the GRO).
Ombudsman complaints
No complaints were received with respect to the operations of the General Register Office
during 2022.
Data Protection
The Act provides that registration data to be made available to a number of Government
Departments and bodies for stated purposes. The GRO shares registration data with
several public authorities to support their service provision and to comply with statutory
provisions. Data relating to birth, marriages and deaths is shared with the CSO under
the Statistics Act 1993. Subsequently, the CSO is tasked with the analysis of this data
and the publication of population reports on a quarterly and annual basis. All publications
and data banks can be accessed on the CSO website under People and Society category.
The GRO reports to the Department’s Data Management Programme Board on all data
sharing arrangements.
30
Appendix
HSE Civil Registration Districts and Superintendents with responsibilities for the delivery
of services.
Districts
Superintendent Registrar
Address
EASTERN
Covering Dublin, Wicklow
& Kildare
Mr. Charles McGuinness
(Acting from September
2021)
Civil Registration Office
Joyce House
8/11 Lombard Street East
Dublin 2
MID WESTERN
Limerick, Clare & North
Tipperary
Ms. Geraldine McCarthy
Civil Registration Office
St Camillus Hospital
Shelbourne Road
Limerick
MIDLAND
Covering Westmeath,
Offaly, Longford & Laois
Ms. Breege Doherty
Civil Registration Office
Arden Road
Tullamore
Co. Offaly
NORTH EASTERN
Covering Louth, Cavan,
Monaghan & Meath
Ms. Geraldine Noonan
Civil Registration Office
Old St. Mary’s Hospital
Dublin Road, Drogheda
Co. Louth
NORTH WESTERN
Covering Donegal, Leitrim
& Sligo
Ms. Kate Ferguson
Civil Registration Office
Markievicz House
Barrack Street
Sligo
SOUTH EASTERN
Covering Carlow, Kilkenny,
Wexford, Waterford &
South Tipperary
Ms. Angela Joy
Civil Registration Office
Lacken
Dublin Road
Kilkenny
SOUTHERN
Covering Cork & Kerry
Ms. Jennifer O’Neill
Civil Registration Office
Adelaide Court
Adelaide Street
Cork
WESTERN
Covering Galway,
Roscommon & Mayo
Mr. Sean Cloonan
Civil Registration Office
25 Newcastle Road
Galway
Prepared by An tArd-Chláraitheoir
General Register Office
June 2023