Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 48.

In page 20, between lines 26 and 27, to insert the following: “(4) Where no birth information is available, the Authority shall seize all records relating to the relevant person’s adoption and/or illegal birth registration and open an investigation into what transpired. The applicant will be kept informed and will be

consulted throughout the course of the investigation.”.

The amendment inserts a new subsection into the Bill, that is, where there is no entry present in the register of births, the authority shall seize all records relating to the relevant adoption and open an investigation into what transpired. The applicant will be kept informed and will be consulted throughout the course of the investigation. Section 6 currently provides that relevant persons may apply for a copy of their birth certificate. This amendment is intended to ensure the State takes responsibility for establishing what transpired if an adopted person's birth was not registered. This could relate, for example, to establishing whether he or she was registered as the natural child of his or her adoptive parents or if that person's birth was not registered at all or if, perhaps, that person was born outside of Ireland. The AAI is the regulator of adoption in this Bill, so it is entirely fitting it should seize all records where there is a suspicion of wrongdoing.

The absence of information in the birth register falls into the realm of illegal adoptions. This amendment aims to strengthen the power of the Oireachtas to legislate to ensure access to birth certificates and protects a large cohort of adopted persons who were subject to illegal birth registrations or adoptions with no records. This was noted in the committee's pre-legislative scrutiny report, with one recommendation highlighting the need for an oversight process or accessible appeal mechanism and a recommendation that the Bill provide for recourse to an ombudsman or other process to ensure oversight of the application process's support for adopted persons and others in using the provisions of the Bill.