Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for attending the debate and for taking us to this point with the Bill. As the Minister said, the right to know one's identity and the right to privacy are two very important rights. In this Bill we believe we are achieving a workable balance that takes account of these two rights. The right to identity is a huge matter in a person's life and that is supported. Separately, however, we are respecting the right to privacy of a birth mother by providing that contact will only be made with her permission.

The right to identity is a solemn right and is essential for the individual. It includes the right to birth records, and the Minister is aware of how important that is for one's medical history. However, contact only proceeds with the acknowledgement, interest and openness of the birth parent. From that point of view, this is a carefully managed process. Currently, I have a plea on my desk from a birth mother for this legislation. She placed her child for adoption in 1986. She has gone to the HSE west in Galway and sought to trace the child. The HSE sent her to me. She was told that the HSE did not have enough resources but that a Bill is going through the House that could expedite the matter. I have evidence from birth parents. They say we should give the children they placed for adoption the right to their identity so the child will take the next step, hopefully, and make contact with them. For every parent the Minister might doubt would want this, I bet he has three times that number who want it.

I have two adopted children. They are teenagers and I hope that when they wish to know their identity, their information would be available. I am sure many adopted parents feel the same. The way I explain this is that it is like a triad - there is the adopted child, a birth parent and an adoptive parent. Truly, at one level they are all in this together, but the adoptive parent is ultimately the bottom of the barrel, and I accept that. The primary need is not mine, but one does want one's child, the young adopted person, to be happy. One knows that need for identity is basic and solemn. It is elementary to everything about the child, and one cannot rob them of that. Although we have handled this very carefully in terms of the constitutional advice, I would go so far as to say the right to identity is primary.

If we intend to work together on this I urge the Minister to take up the offer made by Senator Power, namely, that outside of this House we should meet with the Minister's officials to deal with the legal and constitutional advice we have and make this a Bill we can all approve of and enact in the House.