Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join with other Senators in raising the adoption of children without the families' knowledge. Senator Boyhan made a very good and genuine case with his personal evidence here today. On 17 May 2017, the Seanad debated Second Stage of the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016 and there was great urgency then. Seemingly the information that came into the public domain yesterday has been well known for a very long time. Action has to be taken in this particular regard because there is nothing worse than being deprived of one's heritage and background.

These people, who were adopted between 1946 and 1969, and some of whom are now approximately 48 years of age, must be informed. They must know and they must be told. Why live a lie? They were adopted illegally. Former Ministers with responsibility for justice or foreign affairs - whoever had responsibility for passports - must have been aware these were forged passports. The Garda Síochána is supposed to be involved in this also, but the main issue at this stage is not a question of going back into what happened then but that people have a right to know. The best way to do this is through DNA samples. Millions are available now. I know people who have traced their families and the number of people coming forward in this regard is extraordinary. This is with regard to people who emigrated to the US back in the 1920s and reared families there, lost contact with their families in Ireland and are now being reunited. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs should look at the situation from a DNA point of view. There may not be records there so how will the person find the DNA? We should at least make it available to people who will try to trace their families.

What sort of a country would do this? The Sisters of Charity did not show much charity in sending little babies away and taking them from their mothers. Some of the mothers thought their children were dead. It is an outrageous situation. The Minister should come back here immediately and get the Bill through before the summer recess. It is unacceptable that a Bill she said was urgent on 17 May 2017, one year ago, is not urgent now. There was a big press statement yesterday. There is a lot of publicity going on here. The Ministers are trying to grab the headlines, as far as I am concerned. I know they are carried away by the great event in Dublin Castle on Saturday-----