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

In January this year I published the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022 and prioritised its progression through both Houses of the Oireachtas. Members of the Dáil will recall the intensive deliberations on Second, Committee and Report Stages in this House and the amendments I brought forward arising from those debates. In the Seanad I also had a thorough and constructive debate with Senators and on Report Stage there I successfully brought through four amendments to the Bill to respond to issues raised during those valuable debates. On this basis, I wish to introduce the four amendments to this House.

Seanad amendment No. 1 amends the definition of "early life information" in section 2 of the Bill. It seeks to ensure that where a relevant person had visitors or inquiries made about him or her, this information will be released, including the name of the person and, where available, the relationship to the relevant person. I am satisfied that this amendment underpins the primary aim of this Bill, which is to provide for the release of as much information as possible to relevant persons.

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