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

There would be potential.

The Minister mentioned the birth information and tracing legislation. People applying for their information are being presented with unacceptable delays. The Adoption Authority of Ireland and Tusla are going for the maximum allowable time, which was supposed to be for exceptional circumstances. It seems to be the default. In the Estimates, there is no increase in staff for Tusla in the context of the extra workload in providing information to adoptees. The Minister has outlined that €10 million is being allocated to allow for the extra workload. There is the redress scheme, all of the applications, the IT and everything that comes with it. Will the Minister explain why there has not been an extra allocation for the birth information and tracing legislation? The subhead for the Adoption Authority of Ireland shows a reduction in the Estimate for 2023 compared with 2022. How will the Adoption Authority of Ireland be expected to comply with its new obligations under the birth information and tracing legislation with a decrease in funding?