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

This issue was also mentioned by Senator Jillian van Turnhout, who asked where the bar was. As I said, arising out from the committee's consideration in the pre-legislative process, we will look at what people are saying. Ultimately, where the bar should be will be legally determined. We will consider the matter.

I will restate what we are trying to achieve. We want to give people as much information as they want. Senator Averil Power mentioned that when we were in the Seanad, I was not sure about how far we could go. I am pleased that we have been able to get over this hurdle through the work of people in the Department who have found a way to unlock this issue. Our driving ambition is to give as much information as possible and encourage people to make contact where possible. I refer back to the national contact register in this context. The new approach will be entirely different from the current one, under which we have to wait for both parties to match on the register before we can link them. Under the new system, when someone joins the register, we will look for information on where the other person is located, contact him or her and ask him or her if he or she would like to make contact or know more.

An approach that has worked well is to ask those who refuse contact whether they would like to know whether their adopted child or the parent is still alive. Many respond positively to this suggestion and a conversation then starts.

We will certainly read the paper produced by Dr. Geoffrey Shannon, a person for whom I have great admiration in terms of the work he does in this area.

As to the authority the Adoption Authority of Ireland will have to obtain parish records, in the case to which Senator Averil Power referred, the authority will be entitled to obtain all relevant adoption records, whether they are held in a parish or a back room.