Results 7,961-7,980 of 11,907 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The existing provisions of the Bill allow for the release of records and emphasise that copies of the records will be released in all situations.

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: No. I have responded to similar amendments already.

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I agree with Deputy Funchion on that. The Bill already provides that all information that is there will be made available to a relevant person who seeks it.

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: This section refers to another significant improvement of the legislation between the initial heads of the Bill and the final draft following the pre-legislative scrutiny, PLS, process, which is to provide a relevant person who is an adopted person with medical information about a deceased relative. Again this is important information and where it is available it should be provided but...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: This group of amendments relates to section 27 under Part 4. That section provides for the release of the birth information of a child who died in an institution to a qualifying relative. This speaks again to an issue that came up during the pre-legislative scrutiny process about information relating to children who died in institutions. That was not provided for under the original draft...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I absolutely do not accept the Deputy's suggestion that I am trying to discredit anyone. Where a right to information is provided in the next section I do not see a need to provide the same right in two separate sections. I do not see any necessity or any legal purpose in doing that.

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I have a similar response. I want to put on record that section 27 provides for the release of birth information. Section 28 provides for the release of early life information, care information or incorrect birth registration information. Section 30 provides for the release of medical information. Section 29 provides for the release of provided items. Each set of information provided...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: This group of amendments relates to section 30. Section 30 provides for the release of medical information of a child who died in an institution to his or her qualifying relative. Amendments Nos. 261 and 263 are similar to each other and proposed the deletion of section 30(4), which sets out the categories of records to be used in the search for the medical information of the child who is...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: Before I respond to the points made by Deputy Cairns, I wish to put on the record that I intend to bring forward amendments on Report Stage to Part 5 of the Bill to ensure that the statutory tracing service delivered by Tusla can support the delivery of certain specialised tracing services in respect of suspected instances of illegal birth registration. That will be in Report Stage...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: It will support the delivery of certain specialised tracing services in respect of suspected instances of illegal birth registration. It is, in part, to respond to some of the recommendations of the special rapporteur's report on illegal birth registration and to give additional powers to respond to that. In respect of the set of amendments that have been proposed, the provisions of the...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I agree with Deputy Cairns. I have also heard from and met people who were adopted and subject to illegal birth registration. I have heard their very real and deep frustration with processes and how they were treated as individuals. I am very aware of that. I have said in these hearings on a number of occasions that we must change the culture in these organisations. We will do this in a...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: Section 34 provides in part for the ability of the AAI or Tusla to undertake tracing and request information from as wide a set of information sources as possible. The amendment proposes to remove the ability of these agencies to engage with a diocese or parish of the Roman Catholic Church or the Church of Ireland. The proposal is to remove those organisations from the process. They were...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: We have confirmed that the definition of "relevant body" contained in the legislation can include religious bodies and other private entities. This means they can be designated as secondary information sources. What we are talking about here is the ability to engage with a parish church in Blanchardstown or Kilkenny to see if we can look at its register to find out if there is information...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: We have the power to designate records under this legislation.

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The amendment is similar to ones we discussed earlier in terms of the ability of an adopted person to retain control over the type of information they request. The consequence of this information is that an adopted person would be provided with all information, even if they only apply for certain categories of information. We are all of the belief the majority of adopted people will apply...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I cannot support amendment No. 289. The objective of it would appear to be to elaborate on the purpose of the contact preference register. However, the people for whom the register provides a service is already clearly outlined in section 38(3) and, as such, we feel this amendment has no material effect. I also cannot accept amendment No. 290. The objective of the amendment is to...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I wish to speak briefly to amendments Nos. 293 and 294 because there is some good news. Amendments Nos. 293, 294 and 301 seek to allow a person who was the friend of a parent or the friend of a deceased relevant person to make an entry on the register, although the amendment would prohibit them from making an entry stating a no-contact preference. If I understand and accept the spirit of...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The amendment proposes that a person be able to register a no contact preference but also a wish to be notified if a named person makes an entry on the register. I understand the intention of the amendment. We are not entirely sure if we will be able to deliver on that but we will examine and address it with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel to see if something can be done.

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I will speak to those and to my amendment No. 327 as well. The amendments spoken to by the Deputy relate specifically to adding text regarding not interfering with the GDPR rights of relevant persons or parents. I reassure members that it is not the intention of the Bill to, and, more importantly, the Bill does not in any way, interfere with a person's right to apply for their information...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Mar 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: This amendment seeks to remove the Adoption Authority of Ireland's discretion in terms of issuing directions to a secondary information source to provide a statement of the records it holds. The priority with this legislation is to provide for the release of records. We know the majority of those are held by Tusla and the Adoption Authority of Ireland. I want to make sure all efforts are...