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

I know that Senator Power has very strongly held views on this issue and I respect that. I understand the point that the abridged certificate may facilitate parents in some cases to hide from children the fact that they are adopted. There are advantages and I do not know whether she would agree. The argument would be made that the current certificate will also ensure that adopted children need not disclose their status in every situation, such as when

The provision in the Adoption Act 2010 allows for the introduction of an abridged version of the adoption certificate which was established to protect the privacy of adopted people and their families. That was the argument that was made. The 1952 Act provided for the issue of a short-form certificate which was similar to that of a short-form birth certificate. The short-form certificate was the same format for both adoptions and births and did not disclose the fact that a person was adopted. However, as the certificate contained only limited information, its use became less and less acceptable in recent decades. As a consequence, families were forced to obtain an adoption certificate which disclosed the person was adopted.

The Registrar General has indicated that at various meetings with adoption organisations over the years, representations were made to have the option of obtaining a certificate that did not disclose the fact that the person was adopted. Adopted persons and their families have long felt that they were being discriminated against under the old legislation because there was no provision for the issue of such a certificate. As a result, when the 2010 Adoption Act was coming in and being drafted, a recommendation was made that a provision reflecting this be included in the Act. As the Senator will know, the Adoption Act 2010 (Abridged Certificate) Regulations 2011 gives effect to the provision.

The abridged certificate is headed with the words "birth certificate" and nothing contained in the certificate discloses that the person to whom the certificate refers has been adopted. It is the policy of the General Register Office to issue the abridged certificate unless the applicant specifies that he or she wants a certificate of adoption. It is important to note that certificates of adoption are still available as there are certain circumstances in which such certificates are needed. It is important to point out that an adopted person or their parents may obtain either an adoption certificate under section 87 or an abridged certificate under section 89, and I have outlined the differences between them.

I am sure Senator Power will make a counter-argument to my assertion that the existing arrangements give adopted persons and their families control over when and to whom the fact of adoption is disclosed. Were the proposed amendment to be passed into law, some would probably say it was a backward step in terms of the right to privacy. One of the key issues is that adopted people are treated with the least amount of differentiation as possible from people who are not adopted. Some would make the argument, and some young people might make the argument, that they do not want to stand out as different. Obviously they want to know they are adopted and perhaps that is the Senator's key point in terms of access to the information. The privacy argument was the one that was predominant in 2010 at the time the provision was brought in.

The process of adoption confers all co-relative rights and responsibilities on adoptive parents and their adopted children under the law, the Constitution and international treaties. The Senator's amendment stems from the privacy argument as opposed to the identity argument. These people and their families have the same rights to privacy as all others. It can be argued that the fact of adoption is of no relevance to any person or organisation other than the people involved and that they should retain the right to make any disclosure. Obviously there is recent history, and we have argued in regard to AHR about the importance of identity and of access to identity. I assume the point the Senator is making is primarily about the trigger for awareness. Is it?