Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted that Deputy Robert Troy has paid a compliment to the Minister. It is not something he does frequently. This Bill is a major breakthrough because, for the first time, people who have been adopted and parents of children who were given up for adoption have a road map to follow. It is very important in the interests of closure that they are able to do this. I do not know whether it will give them the closure they want, but at least it is a step in the right direction. The one-year campaign to make people aware of this legislation is also important, as is the information that should be given.

I lived beside Goldenbridge industrial school when I was growing up. I used to see the children going to school. They were not educated in the same classrooms as other children and I often wondered why they were educated separately. Somebody told me one day that they were called the "lost children". That is what they were in many ways. For various reasons, they found themselves in an environment in which they really should never have been in the first place. The stories of many of these lost children are now being told. On a personal level, I know at least 30 people in the parish where I live who were adopted. They were adopted into families that gave them love and care. Most importantly, they were raised in an environment in which the door was always left open to them to search for their birth parents if they wished to do so. We have to acknowledge that many children who were adopted went to really good homes.

I know who I am and where I came from. I have learned that my family started off in Athy some time in the 16th century. I never even knew that my predecessors came from the country. Having studied the history of my family tree, I am aware that I have roots that were generated somewhere. I do not know where my predecessors came from before that, but I know that they came from there in the 16th century. That is very important for me and my family. I really believe it is important for us to know who we are and where our roots are because it is part of what we hand on to our children.

I spoke previously about people I knew who were adopted and had health issues. The problem is that many of their health issues have been passed on to their children and grandchildren, but they do not really know the extent to which they are hereditary. This issue is very important to them. I hope this process will bring closure to some of the issues that have affected people for generations.

I compliment the Minister and his staff because any legislation that passes through the Oireachtas takes a great deal of time, work and effort. Above all, it takes great dedication on the part of people we never see at this committee. I again thank the Minister and the officials.