Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Adoption Act 1952 placed adoption on a regulatory footing in Ireland and, in accordance with the law, all adoptions taking place since were required to comply with that Act and subsequent legislation. The Deputy quoted a figure of 60,000 and used the phrase "forced adoptions", which I will address presently, but I am advised by the Adoption Authority of Ireland that 44,042 adoptions took place in Ireland between 1953 and 2012. Very significant changes in society and in adoption trends have taken place in the intervening period, with just 49 domestic adoptions in 2012 compared with an average of more than 1,000 per annum taking place through the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, in line with the laws of the day. I am also aware that some arrangements put in place in earlier decades were not within the provisions of the adoption legislation, leaving people assuming they were adopted when they in fact were not. There were also births which were the subject of illegal registrations.

I note the recent statement by the Adoption Rights Alliance which suggests "there are over 60,000 'adoption' files held by the HSE, private adoption agencies and church representatives all of which are the sole source of people’s identities". This is not necessarily the same as the proposition put forward in the Deputy’s question which suggests there exist 60,000 files on forced adoptions. I am not quite sure what the Deputy means by "forced adoptions" but I am trying to highlight here the information that is available.

I would point out that where records exist, it is to be expected that many of these relate to the tens of thousands of adoptions conducted in line with the laws of the day. It is worth noting that, while records exist on past adoptions, the nature of these records may vary greatly and many records may not be as detailed or as expansive as current day processes would require.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The requirement in the Adoption Act 2010 that agencies providing information and tracing services would gain accreditation resulted in a number of religious orders deciding not to apply for accreditation and transferring records from their mother and baby homes and adoption societies to the Child and Family Agency. For example, in the case of the Sacred Heart Adoption Society, 25,000 records have been transferred to the agency’s regional adoption service in Cork. Work by the agency on the organising and storage of these records has taken place. The advice of the National Archives has been sought regarding the proper storage of these records which are of great significance. I would hope this process would lead to much greater clarity on the actual number and nature of adoption records in existence.

I have raised the importance of broader arrangements for the management of records directly with the Child and Family Agency and I have asked my officials to examine the work that could be undertaken with the Child and Family Agency, the Adoption Authority and other stakeholders to improve arrangements for managing and accessing the records that are available. I have been advised by the agency that it is reorganising adoption services in 2014 at a national level and will consider how best to deploy its staff to deal with this important issue to facilitate access to records where they exist.

I have highlighted in the House the constitutional and legal barriers to providing access to adoption records without the consent of the birth mother. The Adoption (Tracing and Information) Bill will address this matter, but the Legislature will be constrained by these legal considerations in the nature of any access which can be granted to adoption records. In this context, I would urge birth mothers to enrol on the National Adoption Contact Preference Register which was established in 2005 to assist adopted people and their natural families to contact each other, exchange information or state their contact preferences. They decide, through a range of information and contact options, how they wish to proceed. The Adoption Authority of Ireland has responsibility for the operation of the register. I believe there is an opportunity, in the context of the considerable public attention this area is receiving, to promote awareness among women whose children were adopted of the importance of registering their consent if contact is to be successfully re-established.

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