Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 194: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the reason the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was not incorporated into the Adoption Act, 2010; if she has any future plans to give adopted children the same equal rights as all children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28546/12]

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 197: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on adopted person's accessing their adoption file in view of the fact that these files are crucial to them when filling the gaps and forms and an important part of the adopted person's heritage; her views on whether that denial and lengthy delays of access to family histories is in breach of Articles 7, 8 & 20 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28570/12]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 194 and 197 together.

The Adoption Act, 2010, consolidated previous adoption legislation and gave force of law to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. The purpose of the Adoption Act, 2010, is to improve standards in both domestic and intercountry adoption. The regulatory framework governing adoption has been strengthened in an attempt to ensure that the best interests of children are protected at every step throughout the adoption process.

The area of information and tracing is extremely complex and requires specific legislation in its own right. Considerable progress has been made in drafting the Heads of Bill for the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2012. The proposed legislation has been included in the legislative programme for my Department for 2012 and it is one of a number of Bills which I intend to introduce in the Oireachtas during the course of this year.

While the drafting of the Heads of Bill is still under way in my Department, I can say that it is currently intended that the Heads of Bill will provide for the Adoption Authority to have responsibility for the safeguarding and maintenance of all adoption records in the State. It is also intended that the Heads of Bill will provide that the Authority is to have responsibility for ensuring that access to those records is provided to an adopted person or to a birth parent, in accordance with the Bill.

The draft Heads of Bill will be submitted to Government for approval prior to commencing the drafting of the Bill. It is not possible to give a publication date for the Bill at this stage.