Ms Lisa Kiernan:

Ms Wallace stole my thunder there because I believe my name was also spelled incorrectly which I am getting a little bit used to. When we received the Tusla file I was referred to as Lisa with my incorrectly registered surname, so I am getting used to that at the moment. I found this meeting exceptionally powerful. I had not thought about some of the terminology. The terminology that I always got annoyed about was the illegal adoptees. I had thought about my grandmother an awful lot. I would have loved to have met her. She sounds like she was as wild as I am, or was, but I had never thought of how to think of her as anything other than my grandmother.

I want to return to GDPR. Some people will be exceptionally disappointed if I do not mention it. GDPR has been the best thing that ever happened to this State because it has been able to hide behind it. I will say something that I had not prepared myself to say. My mother finally received her file from Tusla a month ago, or maybe less. I thought that the Minister, Deputy Zappone, had made an announcement regarding the St. Patrick's Guild and the 126 children in or around 30 May 2018. GDPR came into effect four or five days before that. Tusla searched for my mum and found my mum on 18 March 2018. Tusla held on and did not contact my mum until 9 August 2018. Stop hiding behind everything. Just stop doing it. It is wrong. It is unjust. People need to get the truth and the State is continually hiding behind these things. I am not saying that to any of the members directly but I am saying that in general the State is hiding behind excuses like GDPR. My mum is entitled to know who I am. Chris is entitled to know who she is. I am entitled to know my history. Just, please, do it.