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

I thank the Senators for their amendments. I will speak to Nos. 1 and 2 first, then to Nos. 24 and 25. Amendment No. 1 seeks to include illegal adoption in the definition of "adoption". The insertion of these words is not necessary. In any case where an adoption order issued, a person is considered to be an adopted person and therefore a relevant person under the Bill. Amendment No. 2 proposes to include a person whose birth was illegally registered in the definition of "adoption". This is unnecessary as such a person is already captured in the definition of a relevant person and can avail of all the services in the Bill.

Senators may be aware that I brought an amendment to the definition of an "adopted person" on Report Stage to ensure clarity that any child born in Ireland and adopted abroad is included in the legislation. I hope this clarification is reassuring to the Senators. The definition of "adopted person" is drafted more broadly to ensure inclusivity.

On amendments Nos. 24 and 25, we have had this discussion on Committee Stage. Since taking office, I have been committed to addressing the issues that arise for people who have been the subject of illegal birth registrations and I have been leading the Government effort in that regard. It has been a cross-Government effort. There is input to the legislation from the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Justice to try to address the wide range of serious issues that persons subject to an illegal birth registration have faced. We have brought forward some innovative and bespoke mechanisms to deal with that. I have always wanted to deal with the situation that those subject to illegal birth registration have faced but I have been clear in recognising the illegality of what they faced and I did so in the apology speech.

This Bill contains ground-breaking measures to ensure the release of comprehensive information, including details of persons involved in an illegal birth registration. It provides assurance on contracts entered into by affected persons and addresses inheritance and succession issues which arise for such persons. It provides for an accurate birth registration and ensures choice and certainty in terms of the identity by which an affected person chooses to live.

There is a good reason that I cannot accept these amendments which seek to alter the definition of "incorrect birth registration" to include the reference to "illegal". I understand the thinking behind the amendment and accept the Senators, in a similar approach to Deputies, have tried to work with the language in the Bill to find a way to include the term "illegal". It is a genuine attempt to reflect the experience of those impacted by illegal birth registrations and, in some cases, their expressed wishes. I asked my officials to engage with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel on this issue but it has not been possible to achieve it in a legally sound and accurate way that would not require the State to set the standard of illegality and the burden of proof, even when we use the phrase "incorrect or illegal".

In my efforts to address these issues and concerns, I brought forward two changes in the Dáil to section 2, the definitions section, and section 54(11)(a). That was the insertion of the phrase "as a result of the giving of information that was false or misleading". I have made an effort to recognise the falsity and duplicity behind the provision of information in these cases. I do not believe we are smoothing over anything. We have looked at the issue of using the terms the Senators suggested and it has not proved possible. With all due respect and recognising what the Senators are doing, I am not in a position to accept amendments Nos. 24 and 25.