Photograph: Chris Maddaloni/CollinsA couple who entered the witness protection programme with their family have lost a Supreme Court appeal in which they claimed they were entitled to new birth certs under their new assumed names. They had to hand over their identity documents including birth and marriage certs and driving licences. They encountered a difficulty when they sought to have their Irish-born children admitted to school in the new jurisdiction because birth certs were required. They complained in their High Court action that the failure by the State to supply them with altered birth certificates had greatly complicated their life in that foreign state. It appears possible from the evidence of other jurisdictions to provide for a system under which new birth certificates can be issued, he said.
