James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Daly for her question. Efforts have been ongoing for many years to provide a statutory entitlement to information to persons separated as a result of an adoption. In this regard, the Government approved the publication of the heads and general scheme of the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2015 in July. The Bill is intended to facilitate access to adoption information and operates on the basis of a presumption in favour of disclosing information in so far as is legally and constitutionally possible. The Bill will, for the first time, provide a statutory basis for the provision of information related to both past and future adoptions. It will provide clarity around the information that can be provided and the circumstances in which it can be provided.

I referred the Bill to the Joint Oireachtas Committee for Health and Children for pre-legislative scrutiny. The committee published its report last week and my officials are currently examining the recommendations of thereport. I note that one of the key recommendations relates to the length of time being provided for the operation of an information and awareness campaign. The awareness campaign will be a high-level campaign to publicise the provisions of the new legislation, outlining what information can be provided to adopted people and birth parents and the circumstances in which it can be provided. It is part of a suite of measures that the Bill provides in order to ensure the balancing of parental privacy with an adopted person’s right to information. I would point out that during the period when the campaign is underway the information required to apply for a birth certificate will be provided to an adopted person where a birth parent consents or where a birth parent is deceased. In this regard, the campaign will not impact on the sharing of information and-or contact between birth parents and adoptees, where there is agreement by both parties.

I am aware that there is a level of dissatisfaction around some of the requirements of the proposed scheme. However, as the Deputy will appreciate, for the Bill to be legally sound it must include safeguards to protect the constitutional rights of parents to privacy and adopted persons to their identity. I believe that the safeguards proposed in this Bill, including the awareness campaign, statutory declaration, the offer of support and guidance and the possibility of an appeal to court provide sufficient protection of birth parents' constitutional right to privacy and balance the right to identity information with protection of privacy. Any amendment to the Bill must be considered in this context.

See this speech in context