Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is an important issue and we should first acknowledge that parents who adopt children play a tremendous role in society. Many adoptees sing the praises of their adoptive parents, who gave them opportunities in life they would never have had otherwise. That is why adoption is such a sensitive issue and should be based, in so far as possible, on an unapologetic, clear and positive bias in favour of giving a child a father and a mother. Children need that and are entitled to it for the ideal development opportunity.

Senator Mooney put his finger on issues attaching to it and how it is handled in respect of the child more than on the birth certificate. We should focus on that area. Senator Mooney gave examples of mature children finding out unexpectedly and it being a real difficulty for them at that stage. There is an approach to this on the part of the parents from an early stage that leads naturally to the child being aware and accepting that there is no difference between an adopted child and a biological child the family might have. It is successful in many families. Many adopted people say that. It is a sensitive area. I am unsure about the birth certificate and whether the fact that the child is adopted should be recognised on the birth certificate. I am probably not convinced that, in all cases, later in life the child will welcome it as a notation on the birth certificate.

We touched on certain issues on Committee Stage. I fundamentally have a deep conviction that a child has an entitlement to know at a certain stage who the biological parents are, from the point of view of knowing one's genetic make-up and having a sense of identity, which we all like to know about, but also from the point of view of medical history. It is an important part of our DNA. When considering a serious illness, one of the first questions a medical practitioner will ask concerns family history. Sometimes, that guides towards detection and medical investigative procedures. It is a complex area but is one that should be looked at comprehensively by the Government.

The last day I referred to sperm donors. The case of Dr. Joanna Rose-----