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TÁNAISTE AND MINISTER for Social Protection Joan Burton has this afternoon defended the introduction of short-form death certificates, claiming the new regulations would help families mourning the loss of a loved one.
The short-form death certs, which do not have to include the cause of death, had been criticised as likely to stifle public debate as well as statistical information on suicides.
However, the Labour leader this afternoon released a statement clarifying a number of issues.
The only change being made is that people may, where they feel it necessary, obtain a short-form certificate which will not include the cause of death.
This new option would “in no way affect the Register of Deaths or impact in any way on the compilation, extraction and publication of vital statistics,” the Tánaiste confirmed.
‘It’s not something to be hidden, it’s something to be talked about’
Critics of the new regulations included Terence Casey, coroner for east and south Kerry, who has in the past been vocal on the issue of suicide rates in rural Ireland.
Speaking to Newstalk this morning, Casey had this to say about the measures.
It means there’ll be no record of the amount of people who [take their own lives.]
I’ve been speaking openly for the last couple of years about suicide, to try to bring it home to people that it’s not something to be hidden, it’s something to be talked about, to reduce the amount of deaths by suicide.
This, I think, will totally and absolutely reverse what I’ve been doing.
Concerns had been raised that the short-form certificate, without a cause of death, would cause difficulties for life insurance companies, for example.
The Department of Social Protection, in response to a query from TheJournal.ie, said this evening that it would be up to the family concerned and other involved parties to decide whether the cause of death was relevant information.
The question as to whether a short form or long form certificate is sufficient for the particular service is a matter between the person requiring the service and the body or person providing the service.
The question as to which type of certificate is required for life insurance claims and estate management is a matter for the parties concerned.
Tánaiste Burton did, however, cite education as one area in which reporting the cause of death would not be necessary, under the new regulations.
[The new short-form cert] is to address the ongoing concerns from members of the public and public representatives that, where the death certificate must be presented at schools, for example, the cause of death can cause distress to loved ones in cases involving suicide, violent death and death from substance abuse.
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Shameful waste of tax payers money this government has to go
Deplorable. No wonder the country’s policies are backwards
@GooseSkipGoose: Asylum doesn’t work, you suppose to seek asylum in the first safe country you reach, However most transit through EU countries to get here.
@The long walk home☘️: Bertie Ahern brought that in in the Dublin Treaty, people didn’t realise then how things would work out. It’s definitely a no go under the current climate for the Country’s around the Mediterranean that’s why it’s happening.
country is a joke look after your own
@Mark Campbell: so we shouldn’t accept any asylum seekers? Any immigrants of any kind?
@GrahamMManning: and of course require our own to return from all over the world to settle back here in Ireland where we can take good care of them.
@Gavin Conran: perhaps even their descendants?
State needs to sort itself out, put more resources to dealing with these cases. Provide some timely interventions to either send these people home or to provide them with asylum here and help integrate them. Throwing money away in this, in a week, how much could be saved on dealing with cases! Or maybe I should buy a guest house and get pally with Chazza and his pals in the dept!
@ThatLJD: give em a pps number and a job let them live like everyone else and pay their way
@Eamonn Roche: Great but where will they live?
@Eamonn Roche: So do away with our visa system entirely and allow anyone who wants to come to Ireland to do so as long as they work? The only legal basis for asylum seekers to be in Ireland is for the determination of their claim for asylum. The top two claimants are two non-E.U. European states, Albania and Georgia. They have a 99% and 97% rejection rate respectively. The next two claimants are Zimbabwe and Nigeria with an 82% and 94% rejection rates. They should all be fast tracked.
The DP system is the best system to accommodate asylum seekers providing the initial claims are processed within a six to nine month time scale. It should be much faster than that for the top four claimant counties. The issues are decision times, asylum shopping and economic migrants making bogus claims.
So wrong in so many ways
Ya while our own are dying on the streets daily young homeless family’s kids aswell living in tents if there lucky while Leo & co give themselves a pay rise. charity stops at home im afraid this country is F#ked and no im not racist snowflakes !!
@United Ireland: ignoring the spelling and sentence structure. No our own aren’t “dying on the streets daily”, no one is lucky to live in a tent, if charity stopped at home no one would help the people you’re describing, in some areas fair nuff we are f’ed and if you have to deny being something guess what you might be?
@GrahamMManning: Im denying that Im blind, does that mean I might be blind? See how your argument about racism falls short? I never understood that logic. Denying doesnt equate to being.
@Dom: it means you might be. Doesn’t mean you are. It’d be an odd thing to bring up if you weren’t though, wouldn’t it?
@GrahamMManning: I suppose that argument can be applied to anything. Anything said out of context can be odd. It would certainly be unnatural for me to bring it up but in this case, it fits the context. Just like United Ireland’s comment fits the context. Its also relevant and justified given how people can get so quickly bent out of shape. Anyway, just my input, it all comes down to maybes and woulds and coulds.
@Dom: yup fair nuff. Does seem to be mentioned more often than not by posters whose comments could be interpreted as racist and rarely by those whose comments couldn’t?
We really need to deport the fraudsters, every bogus asylum seeker is taking the place of a genuine one.
The few genuine asylum seekers shoulsd be allowed to
We really need to deport the fraudsters, every bogus asylum seeker is taking the place of a genuine one.
€462,046 does not average out at 18 million, your 6million short on your maths. €24,026,392 a year
@Ali Ní Dhomhnaill: till September sorry too tired
@Ali Ní Dhomhnaill: lol I’d be so embarrassed omg
How many times would that get Joyce from Zurich to Dublin and back.
@Keelan O’neill: hmmm…sure he wants to come back?
“Look after our own” is very thinly veiled racism. Look closely and you will see that most decent people don’t subscribe to such apathy.
@Freezepeach: Ur profile pic is racism im calling the guard’s
@United Ireland: need help dialing the number cos you sure do when typing?
@GrahamMManning: hamMmannning go hug a tree for urself or maybe wash Ur hair & get a job living on handouts all Ur live aswell I bet
@United Ireland: such cutting insults, how will my fragile ego not crumble? Bald as a cue ball and gainfully employee as a teacher. What do u do kid?
@GrahamMManning: employed.
@United Ireland: If you change the word more to no then that’s racism.
@GrahamMManning: yawn, what a predictable narrow minded comment
@GooseSkipGoose: care to articulate how, maybe even offer some substantive input yourself?
Scammers !
@ken gray: all of em yeah?
have your say