Written answers

Wednesday, 13 January 2016

Department of Children and Youth Affairs

Legislative Process

Photo of Anne FerrisAnne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour)
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529. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the safeguards that exist within his Department to ensure that no bias, either subjective or objective, is allowed to taint decisions around legislative drafting and prioritisation, including for example, procedures to ensure that no person who is profoundly adverse to the idea of providing identifying information to adopted persons is able to influence the ongoing and unacceptable delay in bringing the adoption information and tracing Bill to final stages, to the point that this legislation which is so important for so many persons is now at grave risk of not being enacted; the steps he is taking to ensure that the legislation will be brought to Dáil Éireann before the election is announced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46891/15]

Photo of James ReillyJames Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The Government approved the publication of the General Scheme and Heads of the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2015 last July. The Bill is intended to facilitate access to adoption information and operates on the basis of a presumption in favour of disclosing information in so far as is legally and constitutionally possible. The Bill will, for the first time, provide a statutory basis for the provision of information related to both past and future adoptions. It will provide clarity around the information that can be provided and the circumstances in which it can be provided.

I referred the General Scheme and Heads of the Bill to the Joint Oireachtas Committee for Health and Children for pre legislative scrutiny and the Committee published its Report in November last. Following consideration of the Report, I approved a revised scheme amending the previous suite of measures that were put in place to balance the right to identity of the adopted person with the right of the birth parent to privacy and to be let alone.

The Government approved the drafting of this Bill on the basis of the published General Scheme and Heads of Bill, subject to any further changes agreed between the Attorney General and the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, taking account of the Report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children on the Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme and Heads of the Bill.

I have sought legal advice on the constitutionality of the revised proposals developed on foot of consideration of the recommendations of the Report of Joint Oireachtas Committee for Health and Children. Following receipt of these advices, amendments to the Heads and General Scheme of the Bill willbe made and the Office of Parliamentary Council will be requested to draft a Bill. I have stated previously that the development of this legislation has been challenging on the basis of the complexity of the constitutional issues involved. However I can assure the Deputy that that this matter has been prioritised in my Department's work programme and that it is being progressed within my Department as quickly as possible.

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