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

I thank Deputy Paul Donnelly for giving his wife's words and reminding us of the stakes at play in respect of this issue. I welcome the opportunity to speak on the extremely important matters involved here and I acknowledge Deputy Funchion for bringing forward the Bill.

Access to birth information has been to the forefront of my agenda since I became a Minister and is a priority for me and for the Government. We have been fully aware of the significance and urgency of the issue of birth and identity information since the Government was formed. Recent developments, such as the final report of the commission of investigation into mother and baby homes, the recent "RTÉ Investigates" programme and the sampling review on illegal birth registrations, which I published yesterday, all underline the huge importance of this particular issue.

The Government will not be opposing the Second Reading of this Bill, although we have some concerns regarding the particular legislative approach that is being adopted in it. I will deal with why the Government is not opposing the Bill. I will then outline the related legislation I expect to advance in the next number of weeks and how it differs from this Bill.

The chief purpose of the Private Members' Bill is to allow adoptees to apply to the General Registrar's Office for copies of their original birth certificates. The Bill sets aside the restrictions that currently exist in legislation, which cover the index linking the adoption certificate of an individual to the original birth certificate of that individual. Consideration would be needed on how the Bill would impact upon the range of complex legal issues which have been flagged in the past during previous attempts to legislate for a right of access in this area. Nevertheless, the intention behind the Bill would be to grant an adopted individual access to the information in the adoption index held by the General Registrar's Office. This, in turn, would facilitate them to identify their original birth certificate.

This intention is consistent with Government policy in terms of legislating to provide access by adoptees to their birth certificate. This is why the Government is not opposing the Private Members' Bill. At its heart, it is a mechanism to unlock access to one part of birth information for adoptees. I want that, the Government wants that, stakeholder groups want that and, most importantly, adoptees and survivors want that.

However, access to birth certificates for adoptees, as provided for in this Bill, is only part of the solution, albeit a crucial part. The Bill does not cover other important pieces of the jigsaw to ensure full accessibility of identity rights. This Bill will not help adoptees whose birth certificate does not record a father's name, where that name may be on other records. It will not help those whose births were illegally registered or those who were boarded out and whose identities may have been obscured. It will not help those who are seeking medical information about their birth families and it does not address the need to provide for an effective and robust tracing service for all these categories of people.

On foot of the publication of the final report of the mother and baby homes commission of investigation, the Government made a commitment to bring forward fresh legislative proposals on information and tracing. This work is well under way and I expect to have heads of Bill ready for pre-legislative scrutiny in the coming weeks. These heads of Bill will be comprehensive and will constitute an integrated set of necessary proposals to provide for access to information, including but not restricted to the birth certificate. The heads will address a set of long-standing legal arguments that have served to prevent a right of access by adoptees in the past. Furthermore, they will provide for a right of access not only to adoptees but also for boarded-out persons and those whose birth was illegally registered, such as those whose cases were addressed in the "RTÉ Investigates" programme.

It is vital that these groups are included in any legislation. For example, I know that some boarded-out people took the name of the family they lived with and got identity documents in that family's name, and they may not have sufficient information to get their birth certificate. What they need is access to their files, access to documents and reports that may indicate birth family history or give reasons why they were boarded out. Other boarded-out people are seeking to trace family members, to have questions answered or to seek reunification.

Tusla and those working in the area of tracing have long known that persons who were boarded out often had particularly difficult experiences. The commission's report details stories of the appalling neglect that some of these people experienced. Their needs must be recognised by including them in any provisions for release of information. Likewise, persons whose births were illegally registered need access to information on files. For illegal birth registrations, the birth certificate does not show their true identity. The only place where correct birth information might be would be on a relevant file.

I am particularly concerned that those affected can access information about their origins. I know it is shocking to us all that the legal landscape at the moment means that, while they know they are not the person they thought they were, in some cases, due to the current legal constraints, they cannot be told the names of their birth parents. I think we would all agree that this cannot be allowed to continue and that the legislation needed to unlock this information must be a priority. I am committed to ensuring that these people's identity rights are acknowledged in the legislation I will soon be bringing forward.

Persons seeking to know their origins also want their birth father's name. I understand that, in historic adoptions, it was often the case that no father was recorded on the birth certificate. However, the adoption file might note the putative father's name or make reference to him, such as his age or occupation, or note comments that the mother may have made about him. This would be the only information available regarding the putative father and, therefore, access to that type of information is key to any hope of identifying the individual concerned.

The House will know that access to birth relatives' medical information is another key concern for those affected. In this regard, we know that the historical files may not contain much information but I believe that whatever is recorded should be provided. I have heard from survivors that not having access to this information is not alone very upsetting but can have practical and sometimes serious implications for them. My intention is that my legislation will address this issue and will engage with the GDPR issues which apply.

My legislation will also provide for a robust and effective tracing service, which is available to adoptees and individuals who were boarded out or the subject of an illegal birth registration. The statutory basis for the current service is restricted in that it applies only to adopted persons and, as it predates GDPR, there are now significant obstacles to processing and sharing personal data. There is an urgent need for an explicit legal basis to allow other data controllers, such as the religious congregations and Government Departments, to share information with Tusla and the Adoption Authority that would help to identify and locate a person for the purposes of tracing. Baptismal records can be key to unlocking a trace, as these records show the child's name at birth and the mother's maiden name.

I believe the best way of providing for the interlocking issues of the release of the birth certificate, access to birth, early life and medical information on files, a robust statutory basis for tracing and the safeguarding of relevant records is through a single, integrated and comprehensive legislative measure that enables all the issues to be addressed together in a manner which is constitutionally and GDPR compliant.

Deputies have spoken with conviction and empathy on these matters in the past months and it is true there is great understanding of the urgent necessity for comprehensive legislation to be passed and enacted. We know about the shame and stigma which the church and State placed on unmarried mothers, and that women had little choice in the Ireland of the past. One of the legacies of the secrecy that prevailed is the hurt and pain that are deeply felt when people cannot access information related to their origins. A void is created for the individual when he or she cannot piece together his or her identity. I have spoken to many survivors and I listen to them. It is clear in my mind that the most effective thing the Government can do is to implement comprehensive legislation to provide the right of access to all types of information sought and to cover all groups of people impacted by historical practices.

To conclude, I reiterate that this Private Members' Bill is not being opposed. It seeks to deliver on one aspect of the legislation that the Government is committed to progressing. I will bring forward my proposals, which will encompass this element, and I sincerely hope we can put our political differences to one side and work together to bring forward the best possible legislation. This comprehensive legislation is necessary and will acknowledge the wrongs of the past by vindicating the right to identity into the future. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet online a group of approximately 20 survivors, primarily from the United States and some from the United Kingdom. All had been taken from mother and baby homes across the country and adopted by couples in the US and UK and raised there. Each one shared his or her story with me. Some had been able to get information and some were lucky enough to meet the birth mother and, in one case, the birth father as well. However, others shared their stories about the barriers that had been put in place. That meeting, along with many other meetings I have had with survivors, similar to the meetings Deputies have outlined today, show us what we are trying to achieve here and the importance of passing comprehensive legislation in this area.

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