asked the Minister for Health if he is aware of the serious inconvenience caused to many applicants for certificates of birth by the reason of the omission of the christian name, the surname or both in column 3 of the certified entry of births; and if so, If he will make provision to overcome such omissions or errors in any amending legislation which he proposes to introduce.

I am aware that inconvenience is occasionally caused to persons who produce certificates in which the christian name is not given. The omission is confined largely to cases in which the birth took place in a maternity hospital and in which the parents had not decided upon a christian name before the birth was registered and did not afterwards avail themselves of the statutory provision which enables them to have the christian name recorded within 12 months from the date of the registration. In practically every such case it has been found that any resulting difficulty or inconvenience can be overcome by attaching to the certificate of birth a baptismal certificate and a declaration of identity made by one of the parents.

The surname of the child is not entered in column 3 of its birth entry and it has never been suggested that this gives rise to any inconvenience.