James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I echo Deputy Catherine Byrne's comments about the work of the staff of the Department on this legislation. They have worked tirelessly on a compromise to find a means of balancing rights. What they have achieved is very fair.

I thank Deputy Robert Troy for his remarks. What is seldom is wonderful.

Many members have referred to the need for a statutory declaration. I know that it is a real concern for people who were adopted. They believe it is insulting to them to be seen as different from others. They wonder why they should have to sign for their information. It is a question of the legal position in which we find ourselves vis-à-visthe Constitution. In this context, I will certainly look at the submission Dr. Shannon made. All of the information we receive from the committee will be hugely helpful to us.

Perhaps I am getting things a bit back to front, but I would like to respond to what Senator Averil Power - she might be a Deputy soon - said about drafting before the report. We were very keen to do something like that. We considered it and talked to the Attorney General's office about it. Two issues arise in that regard. First, the drafters felt many changes might be needed and wondered whether they really wanted to double up on their work at a time when they were under so much pressure. Second and more importantly, it would have been insulting to the committee to pre-empt what it might come up with by saying, "here we have it already drafted." This was the point made by the Chairman. We will do everything we can to make this happen as quickly as possible because there have been many delays, but it is complex. However, we believe we now have the key that opens the lock. Everybody will be working very hard. I know that the Attorney General and the Tánaiste are committed to making this happen. The same applies to me and my Department. I hope the Senator will accept our bona fides in that regard. I am aware that she does not always do so.

The aim of the legislation is to improve life for everyone and Irish society. As a politician, I really believe that when opportunities such as this come along to improve things, they should be grasped with both hands. The statutory declaration is seen as the device that will allow us to address the issue of the constitutional right to privacy. As I said in my opening comments, I fully accept that in practice, people respect others' right to privacy and do not make contact with them. The absolute view is that this provision has to be included in the legislation in order that it has a legally sound basis under the Constitution. If other information that comes through from the hearings changes that view, of course, we will look at it.

Reference was made to the need for resources to speed up contact. We have already made provision in the Bill that the Department of Public Enterprise and Reform will be asked to pony up, if I can put it that way, for any cost that might be incurred as a consequence of the enactment of this legislation. It will be done with the consent of that Department. It has been mentioned that a huge number of additional social workers are in the pipeline. They will come through this year and next year and have been budgeted for. Our challenge will be to recruit them. To be honest, it will be a challenge for Tusla which will receive every support we can give it.

Deputy Robert Troy spoke about the one-year lead-in period. He referred to the sensitive nature of this matter and mentioned that those involved were getting older. Time is certainly an issue for the birth mother, but we can certainly look at that issue again. Our advice at the time was that one year would be a reasonable and legally defendable period of time. One sometimes thinks everybody is in agreement on certain legislation, only to find that someone challenges it somewhere. We need to have a legally sound basis. We want to protect the legislation as best we can. We do not want it to fall on some minor legal point. We will, therefore, look at this aspect of the matter.

Deputy Sandra McLellan spoke about medical information. It will certainly be available. It is the property of the person concerned. There may be some issues about it being identifying information. My own view as a doctor is that people are entitled to their own medical information.

The "compelling reason" issue was raised by Deputy Sandra McLellan. We are still looking at it. The best advice we have received to date is that it must involve the endangering of life. Being distressed does not endanger life. It is not pleasant, but it does not endanger life. The ultimate decision will be made by Tusla. It is an operational decision within it. It will be made by the people on the panel that it has put together to make the decision. They will have to be very careful because all of these decisions will be open to a court challenge.