Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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653. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the position regarding the heads of the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill is; when she expects the Bill to come before the relevant committee for discussion; the way the issue of both the parents and children's right to privacy is being considered in the Bill; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7576/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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My Department is continuing to work on the Heads of Bill for the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill and I hope to be in a position to seek Government approval to publish the Heads of Bill as soon as possible. However, as I have previously advised the House, very complex legal and constitutional issues have arisen in the drafting of the Bill, in particular in seeking to reconcile an adopted person’s request for information about his or her identity with the right to privacy of his or her birth parent. My Department is continuing to consult with the Office of the Attorney General on a number of related issues and I intend to submit the Heads of Bill for Government approval as soon as these issues are fully determined.

The Deputy will appreciate that I am not in a position to give a comprehensive account of the provisions of the proposed legislation until the Heads of Bill have been agreed by Government. Once approved by Government, the Heads of Bill will be sent to the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children for its detailed consideration. The process of sending the Heads of Bill to that Committee will ensure that the provisions of the proposed legislation will be subject to public scrutiny and it is of course open to that Committee to invite and encourage submissions from all interested parties who may wish to participate in the legislative process. I think public understanding of these matters and legislative consideration would be assisted if such parties included representatives of those who have been involved in the adoption process as well as legal experts.