Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to conclude with a few remarks. I thank the Minister and acknowledge that since he became Minister he engaged extensively with the people whose births were illegally registered. That is important and should be acknowledged. In early May, he offered in this House a very sincere apology on behalf of the Government, which I wish to acknowledge. I said then that it was not for me to accept an apology on behalf of anybody else but on behalf of myself, I accept that apology because it ws sincere. I acknowledge the work the Minister has done.

I thank Professor Conor O'Mahony for his independent review of the illegal birth registrations and his 17 recommendations. In regard to his recommendation that a State inquiry into illegal adoptions should be established, we know that such an inquiry would be sensitive, complex and challenging but very important nonetheless. I urge the Minister and the Government to pursue that inquiry. I make that ask on the public record today. It was after all one of Professor Conor O'Mahony's strong recommendations. That is the wish of the survivors, the families and the advocates.

I thank the Minister's officials. One of the officials had a word with me today as I came in today. I was talking about the Minister, in terms of the amendments, and she said we had collaboration on this. The Minister has excellent public servants and I acknowledge that commentary. I also acknowledge that we have all had collaboration, including victims, survivors, advocates and politicians in the Dáil and the Seanad. I thank the official for the prompt and for saying that because it is true. It is important that it is acknowledged.

Another of the 17 recommendations was that we establish a truth commission. I hope the Minister will continue to work on that proposal and work out some scheme.

Although I said some weeks ago that I would find it difficult to vote for this Information and Tracing Bill 2022, the reason I did was that the Minister, as a politician, led from the front and he assured me and others. I made the decision for myself in the House today. Everyone else speaks for and votes for themselves. I am going away today feeling that we have the best legislation we could possibly have achieved that it will provide unredacted access to birth and early life information for people affected by illegal birth registrations, for adopted people and for anyone who seeks further information on his or her origins and for that I thank the Minister.

This is only one part of a suite of important legislation. We will have issues around the Institutional Burials Bill 2022, redress and many aspects of how this State cared, or failed to care, for its minors. There are many other issues and reports on the Minister's desk. I am happy in the knowledge that he is working through them. There will be difficulties and setbacks but did anyone ever think - I had long discussions with the Minister's predecessor, Katherine Zappone - that we would reach a time when these two Houses would agree very significant legislation that he has charted through these Houses? It was not always easy. When dealing with emotions, people's past and that sense of wanting to belong, it touches on a raw nerve and open up old hurts and disappointments and sometimes an uncertainty about who one is, where one is going and to whom did one belong. That is a journey that each and every one of us must make - all of us - in life.

I thank the Minister genuinely and sincerely for navigating this important and fundamental legislation. The option today was to do nothing or to go with this. Yes, it will need to be tweaked but that can happen. I thank the Minister for his stewardship of this legislation.