Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 March 2014
15. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her priorities in terms of managing access to adoption records; the amount of expenditure incurred by her Department to preserve and catalogue adoption records, particularly the records which are transferring and which have been transferred to the Child and Family Agency and formerly the Health Service Executive from former adoption societies. [14015/14]
View answer20. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the present obstacles that exist to allow persons access to adoption records which have recently been transferred to the custody of the Health Service Executive from a range of institutions; when these records will be catalogued and made available; if she has had any dialogue with the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in relation to enhancing the State's archival and preservation capacity in the area of records; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14198/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 20 together.
The Child and Family Agency provides an Information and Tracing Service throughout the country to birth mothers, adopted persons and their families. The Adoption Act 2010, requirement that agencies providing Information and Tracing services would gain accreditation resulted in a number of religious orders deciding not to apply for accreditation and transferring files from their Mother and Baby Homes and Adoption Societies to the Health Service Executive. These services are now the responsibility of the Child and Family Agency.
The Agency advises that priorities include the reduction in waiting time for the information and tracing service through the following initiatives:
- The re-distribution of records from individual institutions in their entirety to the appropriate adoption teams around the country
- The re-deployment of social workers within existing adoption teams to information and tracing work.
This work has seen a net increase of five staff to the information and tracing service and the benefit of this will be evident in the immediate term.
Approximately 25,000 files have been transferred to the Agency Regional Adoption Service in Cork, from the Sacred Heart Adoption Society, which had responsibility for Bessboro, Co Cork; Sean Ross Abbey, Roscrea, Co Tipperary; and Castlepollard, Co Westmeath. Work by the Agency on the organising and storage of these files has taken place and the Agency is anxious to preserve the integrity of these records. The Agency has sought the advice of the National Archives in relation to the proper storage of these files that are of great significance.
The Agency also has records that include those for St. Anne’s Adoption Society; St Mary’s Adoption Society, Kerry; Ard Mhuire, Dunboyne, Co Meath; Limerick Catholic Adoption Society; St Patrick's Mother and Baby Home Navan Road, Dublin; St Louise's Adoption Society Dublin; Dublin Health Authority Board of Assistance; Rotunda Girls Aid Society; the Ossory Kilkenny Adoption Society; St Kevin's and St Johns Adoption Societies. Furthermore PACT, who are an agency accredited under the Act, have records of various Protestant organisations.
Records already transferred to the Child & Family Agency are, for the most part, stored in the offices of the Child and Family Agency with a small number retained in appropriate commercial storage facilities. With respect to records which have yet to transfer to the Child & Family Agency, discussions are currently underway with St Bridget’s Adoption Society, the National Maternity Hospital and St Patrick Guild. There is a significant volume of documentation involved in the transfer of these records, particularly with respect to St. Patrick Guild, and the safe and secure preservation and storage of these historical documents forms part of these discussions. A review of the costs associated with this work and other aspects of the scanning, archiving and storage of adoptions records is underway.
The Agency has advised that, in the first instance, any person seeking information on adoption, or an illegal registration of a birth, should contact the Adoption Authority of Ireland or the Child and Family Agency Community Services who will assist in directing them to the personnel dealing with their particular records.
