Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I understand the need for the immediacy of this and the question of a different agency for information that is not Tusla. The aim is not to slow the process for people getting information, and this is something we have discussed at great length in the committee. When witnesses came before the committee we heard that people were not just traumatised by interactions with Tusla but really retraumatised as well. There were stories of people sitting in front of social workers with their information in front of them, including birth name and the name of a mother and father. This is information that people have wanted to know for their entire life but even though the staff could have several pieces of information, they would not tell these people any of it.

We spoke about this a lot because none of us wanted to delay the process of people accessing their information. I request that the Minister and his Department give this consideration before the next Stage. Something must change in the way Tusla interacts with people who have been affected. Perhaps it could be a different department. Could we give this some consideration before the next Stage because it is really important? We must figure out a way that does not slow the process but we really cannot ignore it.