Irish Privacy Bill Could Block Family Tree Research

Genealogists have written to Michael McDowell, the Irish justice minister, to complain that his proposed privacy bill could put them out of business. They say if the bill is passed they could be denied access to public registers, such as the records of births, marriages and deaths, an essential resource for biographers, social historians and genealogists.

The bill, currently before the Seanad, stipulates that if a person complains that their privacy has been breached, it is not a defence to say the information you got about them came from a register that is open to the public. In theory a famous person could object to researchers compiling his family tree using information from public registers.

What genealogists most fear is that the privacy bill, when enacted, will be used by cautious librarians to deny them access to records. Michael Merrigan, secretary of the Genealogical Society of Ireland, said that the bill could “create a climate of fear”, with genealogical and heraldic research impeded and publication of information frustrated through the threat of litigation.

You can read more about this issue in the Times Online at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2091-2393785,00.html

Comments

[Margaret]

Legitimate research will be hindered to protect people who are "up to no good" from having the public know the truth. I agree that details of people's births should be kept private during their lifetimes because of the widespread problem of identity theft, but marriage is a public contract, and as such, is a matter of public record. Many persons, besides immediate family, could have a legitimate need to know the details of a marriage or death.

Even the lack of access to birth records does not seem to protect one from identity theft. Thieves just need to get one's social security number and they can access or fabricate the rest.

[Peter Walker]

I have experienced 'identity theft'. But one school of thought is that there is no such thing as identity theft. My identity is me and nobody can steal that from me - you may try to copy it, but you cannot steal it. So Identity Theft is actually about inadequate identity checks by companies and organisations who are lazy, sloppy and plain incompetent. May the genealogical world be protected from such people. Why should we pay the price for their inadequacies?

[Joan Wielgus]

This is quite a Bill! And I suppose it may be a sign of our future. Recently I sent a cousin his Mom's family tree. He told me he would be suing me if I continued to complete his family tree online. He said, "Cease and disist."

[Robert Merrigan]

I am a Merrigan, and I am glad Mr. Merrigan is doing this. He is probably my long lost realtive... YOU GO CUZ!!!!