Seanad debates

Wednesday, 17 May 2017

Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016: Second Stage

 

10:30 am

Photo of Catherine NooneCatherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will try and be as brief as possible to accommodate colleagues.

I welcome the Minister and her officials to the House. It is clear from her speech that the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016 is detailed and complicated. I thank the Minister and her officials for their careful and detailed work on it.

The Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016 will give adopted persons, birth parents and relatives a legal right to an information and tracing service which, as other Senators said, is long overdue. This Bill offers access to information for adopted people, birth parents and others, and operates on the basis of a presumption in favour of disclosing information in so far as is legally and constitutionally possible. The proposed legislation will establish the register of adoption contact inquiries and provides for the safeguarding of all adoption records. Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, will undertake an awareness campaign during the first six months after the legislation comes into operation to inform people about the Bill's provisions.

The campaign will outline that an adopted persons, aged 18 years and over, will be entitled to apply for their birth certificate information and that birth parents will be given an opportunity to indicate their preference regarding contact on the register of adoption contact inquiries. People entering their details on the register can change their contact preference at any time. It is expected the information campaign will encourage adopted people and birth parents to enter their details on the register and to engage with Tusla’s information and tracing service.People who were affected by informal adoptions - that is in a long-term care arrangement where no adoption took place or where births have been incorrectly registered - will be entitled to an information and tracing service in the same manner as an adopted person or a birth parent of an adopted person.

The proposed legislation also provides that Tusla will offer support and guidance to adopted people, birth parents and relatives at all stages of the information and tracing process. A new register is to be established and operated by Tusla. An adopted person, a birth parent or a relative seeking to share information or wishing to have contact with a person from whom they were separated as a result of an adoption, may apply to have their details entered on the register. People can also enter their details on the register to indicate that they are not willing to be contacted by a specified person.

I would like to address the subject of adoption records. Adoption records are currently held by the Adoption Authority of Ireland, Tusla and agencies accredited under the Adoption Act 2010. These records are of historical significance and are of great importance for adopted people, birth parents, and relatives. Under the proposed legislation, the authority will have overall responsibility for the safeguarding of all adoption records.

I will turn now to the issue of adoptions effected before the proposed legislation comes into operation and to which the Minister has also referred. An adopted person aged 18 years or over who was adopted before the proposed legislation comes into operation, will be provided with his or her birth certificate information, as held on record, following a request to Tusla and subject to certain conditions. Where a birth mother has registered her details on the register, Tusla will notify her, in writing, of the adopted person’s application for his or her birth certificate information. Where a birth father was consulted in relation to an adoption and has not registered his details on the register, and the adopted person has given an undertaking not to contact his or her birth parent, he or she can be provided with details of his or her father’s forename and surname, as held on record.

Although I broadly support this Bill, I will highlight some of the objections that were brought to my attention by Cunamh, which is an accredited body licensed regulated by the Adoption Authority of Ireland. Cunamh is concerned that due to governance and legislative issues, when this Bill is enacted accredited bodies such as Cunamh will no longer be able to provide adoption information as this information will be provided solely by Tusla. Will the Minister confirm the position on this? Cunamh argues that according to official statistics Tulsa is losing approximately 150 social workers a year, yet this legislation in its current form is going to give the responsibility for information and tracing solely to Tulsa, resulting in the closure of agencies such as Cunamh that have a long history and expertise in this area. While I broadly welcome this Bill and commend the Minister on her work, I believe there are certain issues that may yet need to be addressed on Committee Stage. The Minister has also alluded to this.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.