Seanad debates

Thursday, 26 March 2015

Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage

 

10:30 am

Photo of Frances FitzgeraldFrances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It would not be appropriate for the Minister to contact directly a donor conceived child to inform him or her of his or her status. That is the job of the parents. The safeguards we have put in place to ensure a child is informed when requesting a birth certificate are as far as we can go in this area. While I fully understand Senator Power's position on the issue of information, we are discussing a national register that will contain information which will give the child the possibility, as an adult, to obtain information on his or her genetic inheritance. This is our primary concern in this area.

Senators will accept that some of the other information they would like to be made available is available in the clinics. Practice varies in the clinics because they are not regulated to the degree necessary. Information is, however, provided by donors and this is shared with prospective parents. It is then up to the parents to share that information with the child. The medical information will be addressed in due course in the Bill to be introduced by the Department of Health.

We know that the level of screening of donors is clinically robust, although I accept that this matter is not regulated in the broadest sense because this entire area is not regulated. There are no detailed provisions in place. As such, Senator Walsh is correct that this is a Europe wide issue and consistency in standards is required across Europe. We have not reached that point as the area is developing differently from country to country.

The information requested in the amendment goes well beyond what it is intended to provide in the national donor conceived persons register. Some of the amendments give rise to issues about enforceability and their impact on donation. My main point is that they go far beyond what is intended.What is intended is a point of contact and information for the child and it would not be appropriate for the Minister - in fact, in the longer term it would the authority - to contact the child. That provision where, if a birth certificate is being sought, the adult would be told that there is further information available, which is what we are saying, will open the door to quite a lot of information. That is the primary intention, that there will be information available, such as the name and the contact details.

I reiterate that the parents will have access, as with adoption, to a lot of information at the point of being involved with a clinic and undergoing the procedure. I take Senator Power's point that the parent having access to it is different from the child having access when he or she reaches 18 years, but he or she will have the contact point then and the information. That opens the door to most of the other information that the clinic will have at that point.

There is also an issue as we develop the consent forms and the regulations that will be developed by the Department of Health. Clearly, one can decide what exactly should be in the consents. That will be developed by the Department of Health, as it moves on to the further regulation and as it works out the consent. It is that Department which will work out the precise details of the consents. That is why these provisions will not come into play immediately. There will be the transition period for that to be done. That will provide an opportunity for the Department to consider further the kind of information on the consents which will deal with some of the information that is contained in some of these amendments.

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