Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In his speech, the Minister said he is pleased that the Birth Information and Tracing Bill is going to do what no other legislation has done in the past. I accept his bona fides on that. Compared to what we have had in previous attempts at dealing with this issue, this is a genuine effort and I acknowledge that the Bill is a huge leap forward. However, we must also listen to the reality of the people who are most impacted by the Bill, adopted people who have sought progress on this issue for decades. The age-old problem that seems to come up relates to the privacy of the mother who put the child up for adoption, often under duress, usually in very difficult circumstances and sometimes under pressure – peer pressure or pressure from families and others around them. Further back, there was severe pressure in a climate where they simply could not keep the child they wanted and loved. I have come across mothers in those circumstances. I am sure the Minister has as well. When they signed the piece of paper they were told to sign, they did it under pressure and duress. They did not know what they were signing. Usually, the document also included a reference to privacy. They accepted they were putting up their child for adoption, but not in their wildest dreams did they consider that they were signing away forever their right to see that child again. That must also be brought to bear in this situation. What we are dealing with here is the present day impact of terrible historical situations people had to deal with. There must be a recognition of that.

The Minister says that the Bill allows in all circumstances for the adopted person to have access to all of his or her records without any restrictions, and then in certain sections he puts in place restrictions. That is the issue that must be addressed. The Minister shakes his head as if that is not the case. If it is not the case, then he has done a poor job of making it clear. I invite him to try to resolve that, if not here this evening then certainly on Committee Stage as the Bill passes through the Houses. I am sure there will be amendments on the various issues Members have clearly set out that need to be dealt with urgently.

A number of issues have been raised, including access to information. The mandatory information session is something all adopted persons have a clear problem with and that must be addressed. If a new body was set up it would have full responsibility for everything concerned. It would be a big advance, which people expected to see in the legislation, but it was not included. I fully accept that the Bill is a significant advance on where we have come from in the past, but it does not go far enough for many of the people who have been negatively affected for generations by this issue.

I invite the Minister to try to ensure that the shortcomings of this legislation are dealt with and that where Members genuinely put forward amendments which would improve it, he would accept them.

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