Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Zappone, to the House. From my experience with her in Seanad Éireann and in the Council of Europe I can certainly hear her voice in the speech she has made. She has come up with a very balanced speech today. I welcome the fact that she is going to give time for people to consider this matter. For people who are watching this broadcast I, like the Minister, want to acknowledge the number of emails we have received. Some of them are very personal and I feel the Minister was listening to them. We are very pleased with that because it is a very serious situation. Rights are involved on both sides. With all we have gone through in this country a child who has been adopted must have a right to know who his or her natural parents are, whatever measures the Minister is proposing. Those measures seem sound and will be considered by Fianna Fáil.

Some of the messages received were very personal and provided a lot of information. Birth mothers are not in a position to communicate with us because their information is so personal and so sensitive that to disclose their identity to Members of the House, they would have to trust in our confidentiality. Confidence is generally kept here, but once that information is out there it can be a problem. I hope they can establish a confidential line of communication with the Minister and her officials and that their rights will be looked at very carefully.

Life has moved on. DNA information is now available. A second cousin can now be identified. The birth mother may never provide that information if she does not want to be traced, but a relation can provide information and as a result people are now discovering quite a lot of information about themselves. I would like to compliment the Minister on the respect she has shown to this House. It is not appropriate for us to pass this Bill and for the Dáil to amend it. The Minister knows this from her vast experience in this House, during which she contributed so much to Bills. I am really grateful to her for showing such respect to the Members of this House as her former colleagues. I hope this will progress in due course and that it will be resolved to the satisfaction of everyone. Difficult though it is, it is very important.