Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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437. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when a person (details supplied) will receive information regarding their birth having applied for same initially in January 2021 without response and having registered on the online tracing system and have been advised that it may be three months before they receive a response. [56530/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Information and tracing services under the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 opened on 3 October 2022.  As of 14 November 2022, a total of 7,675 applications have been received by AAI and Tusla for information and tracing services under the Act.

This initial surge of demand presents some challenges for the bodies in terms of processing the huge number of applications received.  Both Tusla and the AAI are working hard to process applications and information has already been released to 182 applicants, with more receiving their information every day.  

The statutory timelines are one month for the release of a person’s information, or in complex cases, three months. Statutory timeframes do not apply to tracing applications. A complex case may include an instance where a person’s information is held on multiple files or across many different locations, or in materials that have not yet been digitized. Locating, collating and checking this information is a highly challenging task requiring time and expertise. As such, it may require up to three months to process these applications.  In all such cases, Tusla or the AAI will engage with the person to advise them of this timeframe.  Both agencies are doing their utmost to respond to all the applications received within the shortest possible timeframe. 

Whilst it is unclear from the Deputy's question to which relevant body the application was made to in this instance, both the AAI and Tusla are committed to engaging with applicants to keep them informed of progress on their application and any delays experienced.