Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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146. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if a person who refuses to attend an information session under the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022 will be denied access to their birth certificate. [13139/22]

Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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147. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the way that his Department, the Adoption Authority of Ireland and Tusla will proceed if a person refuses to attend an information session under the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022. [13140/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 146 and 147 together.

The information session achieves a necessary balancing of EU and constitutional rights in the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022. Through the inclusion of a phone call in this process, the two sets of competing EU and constitutional rights are balanced in a way that does not limit the information that can be provided to someone availing of the legislation, while still acknowledging the privacy rights of mothers.

While I believe that an information session will be required in a minimal number of cases, it will be necessary where a parent has actively ‘opted in’ and registered a preference for no contact on the Contact Preference Register. Where an information session is required and a relevant person chooses to abstain, the person can still make a subject access request. That application will then be considered in accordance with the GDPR.