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

I move amendment No. 272:

In page 35, to delete line 15.

These interactions are an unnecessary breach of the relevant persons' privacy. The inclusion of church representatives in section 34(6) is particularly egregious considering that the Bill fails to name religious orders for other entities as data controllers. Moreover, it does not seem to have occurred to the Minister or the Department that some of the church representatives whom Tusla and the Adoption Authority Of Ireland are authorised to approach may have been involved in adoptions, both legal and illegal. Section 36(6)(g) and (h) need to be deleted and these data controllers must instead be obliged to furnish the AAI with all adoption records they hold in order that they can be made available to persons affected.

While my party appreciates that there may be some instances where a person is difficult to find, in the vast majority of cases a trained genealogist will be able to locate someone through discreet measures using public records and other information in the public domain. While social workers have a fundamental role in society, they do not have the skills or training required to undertake tracing research and to ensure the confidentiality of affected persons is protected where interactions such as those described in section 34 are genuinely required. A person who receives a request for information must be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement.