It was with some reluctance I sought permission to raise this matter. On October 2 1997, when the Children's Bill was being debated in the House, I referred to the fact that there are so many single parents nowadays that young people do not know whether they may be meeting their half brother or half sister. With today's standards of blood and DNA testing, it should be easy to establish whether people are related to each other. Problems will arise in the future if this problem is not tackled now.
The Minister should consider introducing legislation to make blood testing compulsory for people wishing to marry as has been the case in America for some years. Moreover, if a person is HIV positive, their partner is entitled to know that as is the person involved.
When I contributed to the debate on the Children's Bill in this House last October, I received a huge reaction from people all over the country. I spoke to the Minister about the matter and he said it had been referred to the Minister of State, Deputy Fahey. I have spoken to Deputy Fahey on a number of occasions and he keeps telling me the matter is being dealt with. However, I have not received any information on it. I received a letter on the matter from Friends of Galway — Cáirde na Gaillimh, in the Minister's own constituency. It reads as follows;
Dear Ben Briscoe,
Having just heard you talking on the radio, my personal congratulations on both the points you raise. Here in Galway, some of our people have long been concerned about the possibility of unwitting incest because of large promiscuity among young people. These older people are by no means Victorian moralists, just concerned about future problems for society locally so by all means press on with your blood test proposal for which the case is surely very strong.
I also received letters from other organisations which refer to the fact that legislation has been introduced in Britain, particularly for adopted people wishing to trace their parents. The lack of birth information creates a very real possibility of unwittingly causing an adopted or fostered person to commit incest with birth relatives, particularly siblings and half siblings. The risks of adopted people marrying a sibling are above average. For example, many women place more than one child, who may have the same father, up for adoption. Many women who placed children for adoption subsequently went on to marry the father and have a family. Simple figures show that if 40,000 people are legally adopted, there are 80,000 biological parents and 160,000 biological siblings which amounts to a total of 280,000 people.
I have stated on previous occasions that it would not be very difficult to introduce this test. People have asked who would pay for such a test. The people who are getting married should pay for the blood test as they are already paying out a lot of money for their wedding. Perhaps the Minister of State, Deputy Moffatt, will be able to inform me how much a blood test would cost. It may cost in the region of £30, £40 or £50 but the cost would be low in comparison to the overall outlay. We must pay attention to this serious problem.
The statistics are frightening; in certain parts of the country, 80 per cent of babies are born to single parents although the national average is approximately 25 per cent. That should serve as a warning. In a small area or a small town, young people meeting each other in dance halls would not know whether they were related. If people intend to marry, it is in their interest to ensure they will have a long and happy life together and not one in which danger will lurk. I would like the Minister of State to refer this matter to the Minister as it is time some action was taken on it. It should be relatively simple and inexpensive to introduce compulsory blood tests. We owe it to our future generations to look after their interests now.
