Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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213. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when work will be completed on the adoption information and tracing Bill; her views on whether the current facilities for adoptees wishing to find their birth parents are adequate; her views on whether the inability of adoptees to access their family's medical history is a major health concern for those involved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12475/14]

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. As I have stated on a number of occasions it is important to note that complex legal and constitutional issues have arisen in the drafting of the Bill. A particular challenge has arisen in the attempt 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 where consent has not been provided. My Department is continuing to consult with the Office of the Attorney General on this and on a number of related issues. One reason for the discussions with the Attorney General is to continue to tease out precisely how this can be done in the context of what I must state is extremely strong legal advice about the constitutional protection of the rights of the natural mother to privacy. I continue to explore how far the Government can go in building into legislation that right of the adopted person to get access to information without breaching the Constitution. This is the reason it is taking this length of time to draft the Heads of Bill. I intend to submit the Heads of Bill for Government approval as soon as these issues have been addressed.

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. In the meantime I am open to any proposals or suggestions in relation to policy on this matter that assists in achieving as much access as possible in a manner that is legally and constitutionally sound.

I have been anxious to see improvements in existing procedures for the tracing of birth parents by people who have been adopted. The Child and Family Agency, which was established on 1st January last, has advised me that, in the first instance, any person seeking information on adoption should contact the Adoption Authority of Ireland or the Agency’s Community Services who will assist in directing them to the personnel dealing with their particular records. The existing arrangements for those seeking access to information reflect a transition from complex and historical situations and I am anxious that the Agency implement much more improved and consistent arrangements. I have been advised by the Agency that it is reorganising adoption services in 2014 at a national level, and will consider how best to deploy its staff to deal with this important issue so as to facilitate access to records where they exist.

The Adoption Act 2010, requirement that agencies providing Information and Tracing services would gain accreditation resulted in a number of religious orders deciding not to apply for accreditation and transferring records from their Mother and Baby Homes and Adoption Societies to the Agency. Work by the Agency on the organising and storage of these records has taken place. The advice of the National Archives has been sought in relation to the proper storage of these records that are of great significance.

I have raised the importance of arrangements for the management of these records directly with the Child and Family Agency and I have also asked my officials to examine the work that could be undertaken with the Child and Family Agency, the Adoption Authority and other stakeholders to improve arrangements for managing and accessing the records that are available.