James Lawless
Question:1932. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when she will publish the adoption (information and tracing) Bill; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25497/16]
View answerFriday, 16 September 2016
Questions (1932)
Written answers
Work on the drafting the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill is underway and I am committed to publishing the Bill as early as possible after the Dail resumes.
The Heads and General Scheme of the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill were published in July 2015. It was then referred 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, a revised scheme was developed which amended the previous suite of measures to balance the right to identity of the adopted person with the right of the birth parent to privacy.
The Government approved the drafting of this Bill 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 in December 2015.
As the Deputy will be aware, this 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 for both domestic and inter-country adoptions. 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.
One of the key provisions in this Bill is to give an adopted person, aged 18 years or over who was adopted prior to its commencement, a statutory entitlement to the information required to apply for their birth certificate subject to certain conditions. The Bill also provides that an adopted person whose adoption was effected after the commencement of the Bill will be given their birth certificate at 18 years of age.