Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I was hoping for a more comprehensive answer, maybe even a commitment that this issue would be looked at more broadly, whether in the context of the reform of adoption legislation generally or of open adoption of some form or other being considered. I will touch briefly on the fact that there would be beneficial by-products of this. I emphasise before I say this that it is very much a secondary consideration to what would be in the best interest of the child and what he or she would consent to and desire. The possibility that the child might decide to maintain contact with the previous family would have implications for and would inform decisions taken by the birth parents about whether they consent to an option. It would inform that. It would also inform decisions that women who have unplanned pregnancies make and the decisions they make subsequently. The possibility of greater access, obviously contingent on the consent and best interest of the child, would inform those decisions. That is a secondary consideration. The interests of the child are first and foremost. It is an issue that has been flagged by a number of legal academics. Some research carried out by the crisis pregnancy agency highlighted the fact that the possibility of such a form of an adoption would inform decisions women take after that time. That is a much more advanced process of reforming adoption law and the processes more generally. At the very least we should be providing such an option. It is not good enough to simply say that the birth family has lost all legal rights and entitlements. It is not so much about the birth parents' rights and entitlements, although that is worthy of consideration; it is about the right of the child. It is not fair to say a child has no right in law to access the family, or grandparents, who raised him or her for perhaps five, ten or 15 years, depending on the circumstances. It is not good enough to say that they have no such right.

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