Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The next question, submitted by Deputy Pringle, is specifically on the issue of the collaborative forum. If Deputy Whitmore does not mind, I will address her last question in my reply to Deputy Pringle, in which I will set out my past and future engagements with the forum. I have written separately today to all members of the forum indicating my intention to convene a meeting of it once the report of the commission of investigation has been published.

On the wider issue of independent advice, the Adoption Rights Alliance gave me the names of two individuals. I have approached those individuals to obtain advice. The Attorney General is the legal adviser to the Government and I am bound to accept his advice. However, in order to get the widest range of views on how we can deal with this issue properly, I am also engaging with the international experts to whom I referred and the Data Protection Commission. I cannot create a separate unit within the commission. My understanding is that the survivor groups were looking for a separate unit within my Department to deal with these particular queries. We are examining how we can best meet that request.

See this speech in context