Anne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

184. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will acknowledge the distress and other negative effects being caused by the ongoing delay in the introduction of adoption and tracing legislation; if he will confirm the existence, or not, of any new or previously unknown constitutional and legal questions that may have arisen in relation to this matter within the past 12 months, that might have contributed to this excessive delay; the amount of legislative drafting time, in hours, that has been dedicated to this task by his Department officials since the present Minister took office, and in the three years prior to the tenure of the current Minister; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25432/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As I have stated on a number of occasions complex legal and constitutional issues arise in the drafting of the Adoption Information and Tracing 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. My Department has had on going consultation with the Office of the Attorney General on this and on a number of related issues. I am proposing as progressive an approach as is possible within the significant legal and operational complexities which arise in giving effect to this objective. 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 and due to the ongoing discussions, the Heads of Bill have not yet been finalised.

It is my intention to have the General Scheme and Heads of Bill finalised as soon as possible and submitted for the consideration of Government, in advance of referral to the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children. This will be the subject of consultation with all relevant Government Departments in advance.