David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators Clifford-Lee and Colm Burke for their generosity.

This situation has been known about for some time, particularly due to the excellent investigative reporting of the Irish Examinernewspaper. We have known this was in the offing but no one did anything about it. For this reason, I compliment the Minister on going into action and actually doing something in respect of this matter.It is a devastating situation when people were registered dishonestly as the birth children of parents who were, in fact, adopting them. It creates a devastating situation for the child because he or she does not know his or her identity. That strikes at the very core of the human being. There are also other practical matters, such as the question of medical records, hereditary diseases and genetic disorders. In the past, people may have provided incorrect information. They may have said that their mother or father had six heart attacks or an egregious disposition to cancer, but the information was wrong. These are criminal acts. Dishonestly forging birth certificates in the knowledge that these children were not the birth children of the parents is, I believe, a criminal matter.

I heard of a tragic situation on the wireless. A woman was told that her daughter had died, but she was actually given to another family and the adoptive parents registered her as their birth child. The mother discovered this but the daughter does not believe her and is angry with her. She thinks the mother callously gave her away. It is a harrowing case.

These were the very people who were in the "No" camp in the recent referendum. There are a kaleidoscope of issues in Irish society. It is harrowing and dreadful. I sincerely hope this is the last of these ghastly scandals that we will have to confront. At least we are cleaning out the Augean stables. Once again, I compliment the Minister on taking on this onerous job.