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

As I have told the Deputy a number of times, both in this Chamber and in committee, my Department and I continue to work on this legislation and I am in constant contact with the Office of the Attorney General. I have told the Deputy repeatedly that I obviously seek to introduce legislation that makes it as easy as possible for people to trace their origins and to get as much information as possible. One reason for the discussions with the Attorney General is to continue to tease out precisely how this can be done in the context of what I must state is extremely strong legal advice about the constitutional protection of the rights of the natural mother to privacy. A number of European court cases also have addressed this issue and highly complex legal and constitutional issues have arisen. I continue to explore how far the Government can go in building into legislation that right of the adopted person to get access to information without breaching the Constitution. This is precisely the reason it is taking this length of time. The Government is taking a great deal of care and has received some additional legal counsel's advice in this regard. I continue to consult and will bring forward the heads of the Bill as soon as these issues are determined fully. However, it is highly complex and work is ongoing in a dedicated fashion within both the Department and the Office of the Attorney General. As recently as yesterday, I had further advice from the Attorney General on this issue. Consequently, I am committed to bring in legislation that is as strong as possible in respect of access. However, the precise mechanisms by which this can be done are being worked on. I continue to work on the legislation, am committed to it and already have stated that as part of that legislation, the heads of the Bill will include provisions in respect of the existing documents and records. However, it is complex and I continue to work on it. I will bring it to the House as soon as these issues are determined and resolved.

See this speech in context