Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Cullinane for moving this amendment and welcome the motivation behind it. The amendment proposes that the Adoption Authority of Ireland would be obliged to take reasonable steps to "protect, as a right, access for adopted persons to their birth family’s relevant medical history". It is not clear from the amendment whether the Senator intends simply to place responsibility on the authority to reveal to the adoptee any information on the adoptee's medical history it already has on file. Certainly, if that is all that is intended, I absolutely agree with that. We would hope that this is already covered by the Bill but we would be very happy to make it explicit because it is extremely important.

However, the amendment as currently drafted could also require the authority to actively seek information in addition to information it has on file. The Bill already proposes that family members would be encouraged to share such information but it does not require the authority to actively take steps to acquire information that is not volunteered by a natural parent. To do so would be problematic. As I understand it, no person has a right to access the medical history of another, including an adult family member, without their consent. Non-adoptees have no right to seek their mother's medical history or records without her permission. In fact, the Medical Council guidelines say:

While the concern of the patient's relatives and close friends is understandable, you must not disclose information to anyone without the patient’s consent. If the patient does not consent to disclosure, you should respect this except where failure to disclose would put others at risk of serious harm.

I understand the motivation behind the amendment and also appreciate the importance of adoptees having access to as much information as possible on their medical history. It was something I found particularly difficult. Every time you go to a doctor and are asked if there a history of serious illness in the family, you have to say you do not know. Every time you say that, you get anxious and upset because you know that there could be something. From a woman's point of view, perhaps your mother passed away very early from breast cancer. Perhaps some other genetic illness runs in the family but you simply do not know this. Not having that information is at best distressing but at worst, if there is a very serious genetic illness, people's lives are being put at risk because they do not have the information they need to take steps against it and to seek treatment at an early stage. This is a crucial area and we would like to ensure that we can secure within the Bill as much information as legally possible.

Our legal advisor has expressed concerns about the precise wording of this amendment. Therefore, we propose that Senators van Turnhout and Healy Eames and I meet with Senator Cullinane and his team before Report Stage to discuss this issue. We would be happy to ask our legal advisor to take on board the spirit of where Senator Cullinane is coming from and ensure we provide for the strongest possible right to medical information that we can and agree a wording before the Bill comes back on Report Stage. Senator Cullinane has flagged a very important issue, which I welcome.