Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is a very positive amendment. It proposes a very healthy approach. It provides for a gentle lead-in to a potential meeting in time. It is unintrusive. It is an opportunity for the young adopted person to say to the birth parent that they respect their privacy. Equally it is an opportunity for the birth parent, who may be reaching out to the adopted young person, to say the same to them. The main thing is that it is providing for the respecting of each other's space without being in each other's face.It is a process of reaching out, providing information and, maybe, asking for help. Health boards have been doing this for some time now on behalf of birth parents and adoptive families. In our case, we passed on progress reports and photographs for many years. The health boards facilitated that. We are now seeking that this be a function of the Adoption Authority. As I said, there is nothing unusual about this.