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

It is important in a situation where someone initially makes an application and decides not to take it any further that there is a process for them to inform the chief deciding officer that they are not taking it any further. It is necessary in a scheme of this scale that the chief deciding officer is able to make a determination after a period of time that the application is no longer live. This is what is provided for in this section. It provides a six-month period within which this can be decided. It recognises there may be very good and genuine reasons that more than six months have elapsed and the applicant has not communicated. It recognises the stress or trauma that proceeding with one of these applications may generate for somebody. We have built into it an ability for someone who has fallen outside the six-month period to come back and provide a reason to the chief deciding officer. As will be built into the guidelines, this will be designed in such a way as to be supportive and allow such applications to be recommenced.

Deputy Sherlock is absolutely right. We believe a significant number of applicants under the scheme are residing outside of the jurisdiction. As we know, many former residents and survivors left the country following their time in mother and baby or county home institutions. In the context of the Birth Information and Tracing Act we engage significantly with the Irish embassies abroad and in particular with representative groups for the Irish diaspora in the United States, the UK, Canada and Australia. We will mobilise the same routes in terms of providing information about this scheme. We will also provide an extensive advertising campaign in Ireland and in appropriate locations. I do not have the figures but I suggest that a significant number of the 7,000 applications for the birth information and tracing legislation are from outside the State. This shows we can have a reach. We very much recognise that a reach is needed in this area and that many of the applicants will be from outside the State.

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