Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her statement. Everybody was horrified with the outcome of the press conference she held regarding the 13,500 files. What was astounding for most people was the falsification of birth certificates. Up to that stage, while people might have been suspicious, once it was proven and demonstrated, that brought a new focus and spotlight on this issue. Prior to that many people on both sides might have been fearful about the declaration of a birth mother, but many did not suspect there was falsification, lies and untruths. It has now shifted to a different place.

People now want the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016 brought forward and I welcome the Minister's commitment, which she has reiterated numerous times, to do this before the end of the year. Following a weekend when there was a great deal of joy nationwide, a serious damper was put on that on the Monday evening. There was a touch of reality that while we might have come a long distance, we were brought back again. It was not good for adoptees to realise they might be getting a phone call to tell them they might have been falsely adopted and that the names on their birth certificate might not be their parents. I cannot imagine what it would have been like to have received that call. It must have been life shattering.

The Minister referred to Tusla and social workers supporting these people, but the rug has been pulled from under them and their families on many levels. I worry whether Tusla has the resources and capacity to deal with this. While all of this is going on, there are also accountability issues because a criminal act has been committed and lies and untruths were told. As the Minister said, it is important that An Garda Síochána is subject to the scoping exercise and the work undertaken with Tusla because we need to know how this happened and why people in positions of authority allowed it to happen. We need accountability in this regard. The 13,500 comprise only one segment of the files because there are more than 150,000. How will Tusla approach this to select a reasonable sample to see where the agency will go from this? Many people will have doubts in the back of their minds.

We must also acknowledge adoptive parents in all of this, some of whom have contacted me. They feel hurt because, in some cases, this revelation makes them look like they have done something wrong but they may not be in that cohort at all. They adopted for the right reasons at a point in time and they feel hurt and let down.

The junior and leaving certificate exams commenced the week the announcement was made and adopted children felt a certain amount of pressure and hurt. While the truth was welcome, at all times we have to be sensitive about our language and how we discuss this. To be fair, everybody has been.

The only way we can move this forward is through the legislation. Only yesterday I said that my party and I were prepared to work with the Minister to give her the support she needs. I am fearful regarding how we will marry the two. I do not know how we are going to do it. I attended the meeting the Minister mentioned. The advice of the Attorney General to her is that everything will be addressed in the amendments she will table. There will be a good robust discussion here and in the Seanad when the legislation is brought forward. Given the hurt experienced by people as a result of this, it would be unforgivable for us not to address the issue. It is important legislation, given Vótáil 100 and everything else.

It might be uncomfortable to move this forward but we have to do so because it is the right thing to do. The minimum to which people are entitled is the truth. The Minister will be heading into the budget and making representations on funding for Tusla. We will have to consider how we will support these families because it is not just individuals who need support. The people affected are aged between 19 and 50 and possibly older. They have families. There are various cohorts who will need support and we, as a State, owe it to the affected people to give them this support. The Minister wants to do this at all times.

I do not know what it would have been like to have received the phone call to say a birth certificate had been falsified. These people have gone through their lives not knowing the truth and then finding out that those whom they thought were their parents were not. That must have been devastating for them. We will be there to support whatever needs to be done over the coming months. Bringing forward the amendments is crucial. The Adoption (information and Tracing) Bill 2016 is essential. The time for talking has to stop and we just need to get on with it. I look forward to the Minister tabling the amendments on Committee Stage.

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