Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 105:

In page 89, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following:

“Amendment of section 89(2) of Principal Act

130. Section 89(2) of Principal Act is hereby deleted.”.

This amendment is designed to deal with where an adoptive person might not be aware that they are adopted. I understand that prior to the Act being amended in 2010 an adoptive person would get an adoption certificate rather than a birth certificate. In my case, for example, I recall going to the office to seek the first birth certificate to get a passport and being told that they could not give me my birth certificate as I was adopted and that I had to go upstairs to get an adoption certificate. Thankfully I was aware of it by then as my parents had told me I was adopted but if I had not been aware of it I would have found out at that point.As I understand it, adopted people are given the same birth certificate as anyone else and there is no annotation on the birth certificate that the person is adopted. Such a situation runs the risk of people not finding out they are adopted.

I have heard all kinds of horror stories from people who only found out later in life. Years ago people did not travel as much and one did not need a passport or one's parents got the passport on one's behalf. I understand that one does not need a birth certificate to renew one's passport and it is only required to get one's first passport. There have been examples where people have only found out only very late in life that they were adopted. Perhaps they only found out when a parent passed away. Some individuals I have dealt with have told me that the last thing their mother told them, just before she passed away, was that they were adopted or another family member told them to get the matter off their conscience. Those people felt they could not die without telling the truth to the adopted person. It is at such times that people find out their aunt is their mother or things like that.

I cannot stress enough how distressing this is when it is done late in life. It is essential, therefore, that people are made aware that they are adopted. Ideally, it should be done in a supportive way by one's parents and at the youngest possible age, which is best practice now. In the past these issues were not really talked about and a lot of secrecy surrounded adoption. As the Minister has said, the emphasis in the system now is on openness and encouraging people to talk to their children about this issue as they grow up, not to make a big deal or issue of it and have open dialogue the whole way. Unfortunately, we still have to cater for worst-case scenarios. It is essential that the State ensures information is conveyed at least when documents are requested. The information will be provided in the AHR-DAHR context. It means that when a person seeks their birth certificate, they will be told additional information is on file which will act as a trigger to make them aware they were donor-conceived. A similar process should be provided for adoptees. My amendment deletes the current section where it says there will not be an annotation on the birth certificate.