The Government approved the publication of the General Scheme and Heads of the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2015 last July. The Bill is intended to facilitate access to adoption information and operates on the basis of a presumption in favour of disclosing information in so far as is legally and constitutionally possible. The Bill will, for the first time, provide a statutory basis for the provision of information related to both past and future adoptions. It will provide clarity around the information that can be provided and the circumstances in which it can be provided.
I referred the General Scheme and Heads of the Bill to the Joint Oireachtas Committee for Health and Children for pre legislative scrutiny and the Committee published its Report in November last. Following consideration of the Report, I approved a revised scheme amending the previous suite of measures that were put in place to balance the right to identity of the adopted person with the right of the birth parent to privacy and to be let alone.
The Government approved the drafting of this Bill on the basis of the published General Scheme and Heads of Bill, subject to any further changes agreed between the Attorney General and the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, taking account of the Report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children on the Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme and Heads of the Bill.
I have sought legal advice on the constitutionality of the revised proposals developed on foot of consideration of the recommendations of the Report of Joint Oireachtas Committee for Health and Children. Following receipt of these advices, amendments to the Heads and General Scheme of the Bill will
be made and the Office of Parliamentary Council will be requested to draft a Bill. I have stated previously that the development of this legislation has been challenging on the basis of the complexity of the constitutional issues involved. However I can assure the Deputy that that this matter has been prioritised in my Department's work programme and that it is being progressed within my Department as quickly as possible.