Professor Conor O'Mahony:

That is true and is one implication of that approach. The other implication is on the position of the family. On the one hand we discussed this morning that there are many good reasons for early disclosure and the evidence points to that being the best approach. At the same time, there is also the reality that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child makes it clear that it is for parents to guide their children in the exercise of their rights. The Irish Constitution provides strong protection for the autonomy of the family to make certain decisions for itself. From that point of view, if parents have good reasons for perhaps wanting to delay the point at which they would let the child know, then the birth certificate may also cut across that if it includes all of that information in the way that the Senator has outlined.

The converse of that on the other hand, in talking about the family having the right to make this decision, is that the current proposals are that none of this information will be accessible to the child or to the parents until the age of 16. These proposals take that decision away from the family and it is the State saying to families that it thinks it is not in the best interests of children to find out their full identity until the age of 16, which is a very difficult decision to stand over.