Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. At all times in the work that has been ongoing on the Bill, including prior to the initial drafting of the general scheme, the detailed work that took place during pre-legislative scrutiny and the detailed Committee and Report Stages in Dáil Éireann, we have sought to clarify and strengthen the definitions contained in the legislation to ensure that as wide a range of people as possible will be able to use the very important provisions of this legislation to get full and unredacted access to all their information. We are confident that we have achieved that in terms of the provisions of the Bill laid before Seanad Éireann. As such, we consider the four amendments in this grouping as unnecessary because these issues are already addressed within the Bill.

Amendments Nos. 1 and 2 propose changes relating to persons who were adopted outside the State. I assure the Senator that these scenarios are provided for in the existing definitions of adopted persons.I specifically addressed concerns that were raised about this issue in the Dáil, including after previous iterations of the legislation through an amendment I introduced on Report Stage. That amendment was to insert section 2(1)(b)(ii), which states: "removed from the State by any other person for the purpose of the effecting of his or her adoption outside the State, and whose adoption was effected outside the State,". This amendment ensures that, in all cases, a child born in Ireland who was sent for adoption abroad is included. The person does not have to have been sent by the Adoption Authority of Ireland. The provision covers all children who were sent outside the State for adoption, so I believe we have covered the issue Senator Higgins has raised.

Amendments Nos. 3 and 4 relate to including a person subject to an illegal birth registration and illegal adoption in the definition of "adopted person". These amendments are unnecessary as the persons to whom they are relevant are already sufficiently provided for. They are provided for in the definitions of "incorrect birth registration" and "relevant person". Furthermore, seeking to include them in the definition of "adopted person" is counter to its meaning as, in the scenario of an illegal birth registration or illegal adoption, an adoption was not legally effected. Therefore, the person subject to it is not an adopted person.