Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

To clarify, there is a lot of information in relation to adoption under the early life definition. There is that kind of granular detail but there is slightly less information on care arrangements. One of the reasons it is relevant is that some of the care arrangements, including some of the boarded-out arrangements and others, included situations which were exploitative of child labour. Some of them were abusive and some were problematic in other ways. The names, details and mechanics are there. The reason we raised the question of the correspondence around the arrangements relates to whether there had been concerns, issues or wrongful expectations in relation to a child when he or she was being boarded out or fostered out. That kind of mechanical information about where a person went, when they went and for how long is present. However, I included that amendment around issues like correspondence to give texture to why this happened and what the experience was. That is what I was looking for.

The Minister said the list includes information but is not limited to that information. He will be aware, however, that a minimalist approach to giving people information has been taken for decades. People have felt that they are squeezing blood from a stone in trying to get information. Tusla, the Adoption Authority of Ireland and the various institutions should not be given the benefit of the doubt in terms of an assumption that there will be an expansive interpretation of this Bill. People's experience has been that they are given the absolute bare minimum and reasons are found not to even give them that. While some of these provisions may not seem necessary in a circumstance where the Bill is generously or widely interpreted, these are the reasons we are trying to copper-fasten them in the legislation. I agree with the Minister that this is a level of detail that we should not need to insert to a Bill. However, he will understand the reason people are looking for it.

The Minister noted that the Bill mentions the name, where the person was in charge, the time, the place and the dates. This is mechanical information about the care arrangement. There may be correspondence indicating where a child was found, how he or she was treated and what work the child was expected to do. People want to have that information as well. Does the Minister know what I mean?