Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the representatives. I very much thank them for their presentations, for all the work they have done in this field over a very long period and for bringing us to the position in which we now find ourselves.

We all welcome that the heads of the Bill have been published. The legislation has been a long time in coming and we are all pleased this day has come. Whether people agree that it contains everything is a matter to be teased out. The presentations from the representatives of each of the organisations have highlighted not only the problems they have with the Bill but, in very many cases, they have also presented us with many solutions. I am sure those issues and solutions will be very important in the drafting of the Bill and that many of them will be taken on board. Some of the solutions and issues presented were probably ones we had not even thought of but I noted from the presentations that many of the issues overlap a little.

These are real and genuine issues for many people. It is a very complex issue and also a very sensitive issue. I agree that everybody is entitled to know their identity and where they come from. They are entitled to their medical records and their health footprint. I agree with Mr. Paul Redmond that it is very important that everybody is entitled to know that.

I have jotted down some notes on this as we have heard other presentations and issues have arisen in previous briefings. I agree with Ms Susan Lohan that privacy is a two-way street. There are the issues we discussed at the other hearings with regard to compelling reasons not to disclose information. We have been trying to figure out exactly what a compelling reason is. It has varied from a life or death situation to somebody being distressed. We made the point that there is distress on both sides. There is the question of who makes the decision on the compelling reasons and we have asked for examples of compelling reasons. The Minister stated last week that it will be a panel set up within Tusla. That gave us some indication of who might be making the decisions in this regard.

There are many views on statutory declarations. Most people are of the view that people should not have to make a statutory declaration, but I have noted that not everybody would be of that view. There is, however, nothing to stop a relative afterwards from getting involved or people looking through social media. There are varying views on that as well.

I agree strongly on the issue of fees and that there is the threat of using the courts to recover unpaid fees. That is of great concern to everybody and is reflected in all the presentations.

With regard to the funding of counselling services, I am not sure who will provide all the counselling services or how they will be funded. We all know that Tusla is pretty underfunded as we speak, and even though it got an increase in funding under the budget, it is providing funding to a great number of organisations and areas ranging from family resource centres to the implementation of the aftercare Bill and the adoption (information and tracing) Bill to women's refuges. Will it be able to fund the implementation of this Bill and the social workers required and will it cause backlogs? This needs to be teased out a little more.

The national adoption contact preference register has been in place since 2005 and much work has done on it. I strongly agree that the data need to be transferred. I am not sure if there is a legal issue in this regard but a great deal of money in terms of time and resources has been spent and we need to find a way to make it work. It is very important. Have I used up my allotted time?