Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 February 2013
14. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 90 of 15 May 2012 if she will report on the progress of the Health Service Executive's search for birth related and other documents in the possession of the HSE and previous organisations now within the HSE organisation relating to persons identifying as Adopted and for whom no adoption record exists. [7274/13]
View answerI am informed by the Adoption Authority of Ireland that, in mid 2010, they conducted a review of information it retained of contact received from persons seeking to trace their natural parents where no adoption records existed. This exercise indicated that 99 people who had identified themselves to the Board as adopted, did not have a corresponding adoption file. Around 45 of these cases related to people born after 1953 and the balance related to persons born pre-1953. Subsequently a further 20 applications from persons seeking access to the National Contact Preference Register (NCPR) administered by the AAI have fallen into this category. In many cases they are aware that the details contained in the Register of Births are false and that their birth was registered incorrectly.
The HSE has also had contact from a small number of people in similar circumstances where no adoption record exists The HSE have referred those people to the AAI to encompass them in the review, add their details to the NCPR and provide assistance with information and tracing.
The AAI and HSE have attempted to identify and quantify the numbers of people whose registrations fall into these categories but further efforts are required to move beyond that and endeavour to trace birth parents, children and or siblings who are affected by this issue. Furthermore currently records related to such registrations, that may exist, are held by various agencies, some by the HSE and AAI, but also possibly by private adoption agencies, maternity hospitals, private individuals and other sources.
This is a very complex and difficult issue and I have recently met with a group of people who have found themselves in these circumstances. I have informed them of the actions I intend to take to address their current situation including asking the AAI and HSE to identify the legislative options for examining all records in existence or any other administrative assistance or including provisions in this regard in the forthcoming Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill.
When the former Adoption Board launched the National Adoption Contact Preference Register in 2005, provision was made for persons, who were party to the illegal registration of a child, to register an interest in the Register for possible future contact with another party sometime in the future. Fundamental to the success of the NCPR is that any persons with information in this regard contact the Information and Tracing Unit of the AAI.
