The National Adoption Contact Register was established in 2005 to assist adopted people and their natural families to make contact with each other, exchange information or state their contact preferences. They decide, through a range of information and contact options, how they wish to proceed. The Adoption Authority of Ireland has responsibility for the operation of the National Adoption Contact Preference Register (NACPR). The Authority has indicated that there were 796 applications in 2011, 542 in 2012 and 526 to end Sept 2013, with a cumulative total of to date of 7426 adopted persons and 3312 relatives applying to register with the NCPR.
According to the Authority there have been 644 "matches" identified to date but it might be noted that some of these would have involved matches between two (or more) siblings that had been adopted so there would be more than 644 adopted persons matched with a relative.
The Authority, the Health Service Executive and accredited adoption services routinely inform enquirers about the existence of the register and encourage anyone interested in tracing and/or gaining information searching to join. It is also intended that the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill will provide for placing the National Contact Preference Register on a statutory basis and that a National Tracing Service will be established under the provisions of the Bill, the operation of which will be subject to guidelines to be set out in regulations.
