Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to address what was done by people, such as in the example of St. Patrick’s Guild. We know it was illegal. It has already been clearly determined and identified as illegal. Under this legislation, however, a person who wishes to access their records will be describing this illegal act as being "incorrect", meaning "false or misleading". I would point out that we are putting in a definition of "incorrect birth registration information". We are putting that in as a frame that can be used, and is relevant for many different actions.We are not putting in "illegal" as a definition. Regardless of the detail of the Sinn Féin amendment, there is an attempt to identify this as a consideration that could be placed alongside "incorrect". It means that when somebody is looking at a false record of themselves, which may have been done illegally, for an illegal purpose or gain, or may even have been found by a court to be illegal, it will be described as "incorrect". That is the frame that we put on it.

In the pre-legislative scrutiny report from the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, one of the explicit recommendations is that there would be reference to the terms "illegal" or "unlawful" adoption. My amendments do not seek to remove "incorrect"; they simply also add "illegal" as another category. Again, it is not simply about describing the records. It is important because these are the points of access. These are the entry points for the relevant persons in terms of accessing their records. That is why it is important how the relevant person is required to describe what has happened to him or her.