Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 126:

In page 64, line 37, after “her” to insert “, to commence within 90 days of their request”.

Amendment No. 126 would insert a clause stipulating that the provision of counselling support should commence not later than 90 days after it is requested by a relevant person or parent. This amendment seeks to ensure the provision of counselling support to parents and relevant persons is not subject to inappropriate delays. This is important because these periods of time will involve extraordinary pressures for individuals who may be affected by the measures in this Bill. We need to recognise that timeliness has an impact in this regard. This is not about people choosing to address a long-standing issue but persons who are reaching out during a time of significant pressure or difficulty for them. In that regard, they should not simply have an entitlement to counselling and go to the end of a very long queue. This should be a timely measure. We would all like to believe people could access counselling support immediately but I have sought to be reasonable and have suggested that counselling sessions would commence within 90 days of being requested. If people were to seek counselling support, that would be guaranteed and they would know that, within three months, they would have that opportunity. Recent stories have highlighted that a large number of persons have had to wait well over three months to receive counselling from the HSE. It is important such delays do not become commonplace.

A number of my amendments on this issue have been ruled out of order but they relate to the same core principle of counselling. I encourage the Minister to take on board the importance of ensuring counselling is provided for as long as a person may need it. An amendment on that was ruled out of order. The idea was that people could access counselling within a timely period and be given it for the period of need, which may be different for different persons. Some persons may need counselling around a difficult decision or contact point. We only need to look to the mother and baby home reports and other reports to know there may be very difficult and complicated issues of trauma that may be unpacked by the provisions of this Bill. It is important those persons who need that additional support are given counselling for the period of time they need it.

The legislation suggests that counselling "may" be provided at the request of a relevant person or the parent of a relevant person. My amendment on that was ruled out of order but I hope the Minister will take on board that counselling should be provided. There should not be a question as to whether it will be provided.

This next issue is slightly outside the scope of the Bill but it relates to the principle of counselling. An interesting question arose around the future Minister and the adoption legislation. I acknowledge the former Minister, Katherine Zappone, who brought forward that legislation. I succeeded in bringing an amendment to it on open adoption. When we have dealt with the past, I hope we will have the opportunity to engage with the future and open or semi-open adoption. The previous Minister engaged with my amendment, held a consultation and conducted a legal review, which found there was a strong demand for open and semi-open adoption.

One of the issues we encountered was the gap in counselling in respect of adoption. Ireland has a mindset whereby when someone has been adopted, they are part of a new family. The family will no longer talk about the process of adoption because it is a "one family only" framing, which is out of line with the child and family relationship legislation. The person will be told he or she cannot talk about adoption because that person is a Smith now, for example, rather than having counselling. There has been a very ad hocand informal relationship with counselling for those who have experienced adoption in Ireland. There is some support informally through NGOs for those who have been subjected to adoption from another country, but there is a gap in counselling supports from the State for those who have experienced adoption, many of them at an older age. I am just signalling that.

My focus in this amendment is on ensuring counselling is promptly provided for as long as it may be needed, but I also want to signal that there needs to be a general look at the wider question of counselling, including for children and those with experience of adoption. There is a little bit of a lacuna at the moment.