Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and commend her on her work. I also commend Tusla on identifying clear evidence of these illegal registrations, which took place from 1946 to 1969. It forwarded the information to An Garda Síochána. The Department was previously dismissive of any investigation, stating it would be "of limited benefit and would yield little useful information". It is extremely concerning that the Minister's predecessors were so quick to fob off substantiated claims made in 2001, as well as extensive claims made by the Adoption Rights Alliance seven years ago. I wonder why no action was taken until the current Minister, Deputy Zappone, began to investigate this.

The Adoption Authority of Ireland delegation told representatives of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in June 2013 there were "at least 120 confirmed cases of illegal registrations made by St. Patrick's" so why has it taken five years for us to verify this? Why was it not taken seriously or seen as a priority for the Department? I welcome that the Minister has requested an independent investigation that would examine records of non-governmental agencies and other possible illegal registrations. Will the investigation look into why the Department failed in its duty to fully investigate 17-year-old claims?

Every person has a right to know his or her background and should have the freedom to access records if he or she so chooses. We know many people were adopted from St. Patrick's Guild and they faced great difficulties in accessing information from the adoption society. In many cases, they were frustrated and let down. It is worth reiterating the comment of the Minister that it has been extremely difficult to uncover clear evidence because of the deliberate failure by those involved to keep records.The Adoption Rights Alliance has also noted the lack of information forthcoming from St. Patrick's Guild.

I wish the independent investigation well. Does the Minister accept that these adoptions were illegal? Will all agencies, individuals and homes involved in adoption in this State be included within the investigation? Will the estimated 2,000 babies who were illegally sent to the United States be included? Senator Victor Boyhan painted an emotional and tragic picture for us in that respect, and I thank him for doing so.