Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wholeheartedly thank Senators Burke and Moloney who were the main Government spokespersons on this issue. I know they researched and thought through the Bill before deciding to support it. I also note that in their opening remarks they said this Bill should be allowed to move forward and be amended if necessary on Committee Stage. I appreciate that they said we should all work to help progress it and I look forward to working with them and other Members to do that. I thank every other Senator who contributed to this debate, all of whom spoke with interest and sincerity. Senator Brennan shared his own story, which is difficult to do. In speaking out I feel that I am in a position to do something. I have been fortunate enough to find my mum and this Bill will not make any difference to me, but it would be wrong for me to be in this position and not use it to achieve something positive. That has been my motivation but I know it is difficult and I appreciate that Senator Brennan chose to do that today. It is important to use our personal experience to make a difference to other people. Senators mentioned e-mails they have received over recent weeks and I thank them for reading those and engaging with, and listening to, people.

Senator Henry pointed out that reunion does not always work well. That is true but there are many positive stories. Many women contacted me who were petrified for years that somebody would find out and who did not tell their families or their children. When their adult son or daughter contacted them and they told the family, the family could not believe they had not been told. The response was, “You are my mum, I love you. I can’t believe it. This isn’t 1953, this is 2014. Why would you carry that pain, why wouldn’t you let us carry it with you? Why wouldn’t you reach out and talk?” That has been the experience of the majority of women and it is important to note that too.

The Bill provides that everybody is different but it provides the right safeguards and supports to enable people to do that. That is far better than the enforced silence and failure to deal with it that we have had to date. I note the Minister said that legislation can provide for retrospective identifying information to be given to the adopted person. That is indeed the case. He distinguished between retrospective and prospective adoptions. I welcome the fact that he is speaking more strongly about future adoptions and that he is working towards an open adoption system. There are, however, 50,000 people who were adopted in the past and we must do right by them. While the number of people adopted in this country now is tiny, all of those adoptions should be open. The issue that needs to be grasped is how to reach out to people who were the subject of secretive, forced adoptions and help adopted people find their own identities and help mothers find comfort by reuniting with their lost children.

I am extremely disappointed by the Minister's statement that instead of adopting this Bill he will consider it as part of the work on the information and tracing Bill which the Government promised almost four years ago and which we have not seen. The Government has just over a year to run. That legislation will take time to come through. Philomena Lee’s son died before she found him. Other people have had the same experience. These women are not getting any younger. Every day that passes is one on which somebody else misses that opportunity. There is a Bill before the House today. As Senator Craughwell said, it would be wrong to take the typical Government-Opposition line and say thanks for drafting an excellent Bill, thanks to Fergus Ryan for reading through all the constitutional issues, we will take it on board but we will draft our own Bill.