Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 5:

In page 12, line 22, to delete “16 years” and substitute “12 years”.

Please bear with us all because it is difficult to manage the various documents.

Amendments Nos. 5 and 8 relate to providing access to birth details. The Bill currently provides for that to happen at the age of 16 years. I am proposing that 16 years be substituted with 12 years. There are a lot of grounds for this. Certainly, the Joint Committee on International Surrogacy recommended that when children reach the age of 12, they should be entitled to access their information in the national surrogacy register. It does not mean they would have to, but they could at any point from 12 onwards. It is also significant that Professor Conor O'Mahony, the special rapporteur on child protection, also recommended that the age should be 12 in his report on the implications of donor assisted reproduction and surrogacy for the rights and best interests of the child. That principle should inform all our work on this Bill. He stated "the right to identity is a right of the child, and is held while a child; it is not the case that the right only crystallises upon turning 18", or even 16 years. It was felt that by 12, most children's capacity is evolved enough and that they could navigate the process if they so wished. Parents deal with this issue in different ways and, to a large extent, being aware of their identity at an age-appropriate stage should be part and parcel of children growing up. Many young teenagers inquire about their background and personal information. It is hard to see any reason that should be denied to children until they are 16. The recommendations from two strong sources suggest that the age should be 12 and I hope the Minister might consider that.