Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 October 2012
4. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans for the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill; the key measures likely to be contained in the legislation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46940/12]
View answerI assure Deputy Troy that the adoption (information and tracing) Bill continues to be a priority of mine. The drafting of the heads of Bill is well advanced in my Department and consideration of the policy issues on all aspects of the proposed Bill is ongoing. As I stated previously in the House, it is intended that the legislation would provide for a structured and regulated way of safeguarding adoption records and providing access to adoption information as much as possible.
It is intended that the heads of Bill would provide for the Adoption Authority of Ireland to have responsibility for the safeguarding and maintenance of all adoption records in the State. This would include the establishment of a register of all relevant records held in various locations which would be maintained by the adoption authority. This is urgent and I cannot understand why it has not been done previously. It makes it very difficult for those who are trying to trace. Different standards are applied and there are different practices. The measures I will have in this Bill to bring those records together in one place are the right way to go.
It is also intended that the heads of Bill would provide that the authority would have responsibility for ensuring that access to these records was provided to an adopted person or to a birth parent, in accordance with the Bill. As all persons have a constitutional right to privacy, it is envisaged that there may be some restrictions on the information that could be made available without the consent of the parties involved. I have been in ongoing discussions with the Attorney General on this issue and I will take this tracing service as far as I possibly can within the constitutional constraints.
It is also intended that the Bill will establish the National Adoption Contact Preference Register on a statutory basis in order that adopted persons, birth parents and others separated as a consequence of an adoption will have access to the tracing and information service.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
The National Adoption Contact Register was established in 2005 to assist adopted persons and their natural families to contact each other, exchange information or state their contact preferences. The applicants decide, through a range of information and contact options, how they wish to proceed. It is also intended to establish a national tracing service on a statutory basis to assist persons who have been separated by adoption and are seeking assistance in tracing or contacting with relatives. It is intended also to provide the tracing service to persons who have been separated as a consequence of an informal arrangement, for example, in the case of an informal or unlawful birth registration where no actual adoption took place.
The draft heads of the Bill will be submitted to Government for approval prior to commencing the drafting of the legislation. I hope to publish the Bill as soon as possible having regard to the current priority workload relating to the children's referendum, the adoption (amendment) Bill, and the child and family support agency Bill.
I thank the Minister for her reply. I am glad that she has re-emphasised her priority in this regard because this is legislation that affects between 45,000 and 50,000 people and it is quite important. It is legislation the Minister promised on assuming office 18 months ago. When we talk about giving children rights in the context of the children's referendum, a child's key right is the right to his or her identity. This is something that needs to be prioritised.
I welcome the Minister's frank reply but would respond with one simple supplementary question. When will we see heads of the Bill coming before the Dáil in order that my colleagues and I will have an opportunity to examine them in detail and in order that the many who are affected by this and are waiting on it will have an opportunity to look at them and propose amendments, all of which will ensure this much needed legislation is brought through the Houses of the Oireachtas?
The staff of my Department have been doing a considerable amount of work on the referendum, on the adoption legislation which I published that will arise as a consequence of the referendum being passed, and on the establishment of the new agencies. I am pleased to say, however, that a considerable amount of work has been done on the adoption tracing Bill and, depending on the demands of those other issues which will be substantial in getting Dáil time, I will attempt to have the heads of Bill brought before Government before the end of the year, if possible. While I cannot guarantee that because of the range of other work in which we are involved, certainly it will be early in the new year. If I can at all, I will have the draft heads of the Bill going to Government before the end of this year and we can then progress the legislation in the House early in the new year. It is a priority of mine.
Last week I met the Adoption Rights Alliance and I am working as closely as I possibly can with it to deal with the issues it is pursuing on behalf of the many people who make representations to it. I have said to the alliance that I shall continue to consult and meet it to try to deal with the range of issues which are of significant concern to it and its members.
The right of identity is a core right under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. By not having legislation in this area, are we in breach of that United Nations agreement?
Primarily, this is impacted here by the Constitution. There is a balance here that people have spoken about traditionally, which is, as Deputy Troy correctly states, the adopted person's right to information but, equally, on the other side of the equation, the mother's right to privacy. One can argue, as Deputy Troy did, that both of those rights exist, but so far the Supreme Court has sided with the right to privacy, and that is the fact of the matter.
Whether we can give effect to both is precisely what I have asked the Attorney General to examine, and that is where the consideration and discussion is at present. There are various options. One option might be to include certain presumptions in the legislation, such as a presumption that it is in everyone's best interest that the information must be shared unless there are compelling reasons this would unjustifiably conflict with a living person's right to privacy. I am examining the various options.
As I stated, to date the Supreme Court has been on the side of the mother's right to privacy. Since that Supreme Court decision was taken, there have been many developments in understanding the importance of a person's right to his or her identity and to information, and that is what I am examining. I hope to bring the heads of the adoption (information and tracing) Bill to Government as soon as possible.
