Dáil Éireann Debate, Friday - 7 September 2018
1177. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she now plans to hold a full scale audit of adoption records with a view to determining the number of adoption records that may be false and misleading, including illegal registration of births; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36980/18]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware of the analysis of adoption records that is currently being undertaken under my instruction. An exercise to see if the extent of incorrect registrations of birth can be established has commenced. The independent Chair, Ms. Marion Reynolds, is overseeing a process whereby the Adoption Authority of Ireland and Tusla are analysing a sample of relevant records in their custody. There are an estimated 150,000 relevant records in existence and, of these, approximately 100,000 are currently in the custody of the State. The review will focus on those relevant records in the custody of the State.
The purpose of the review is to establish whether there is sufficient reliable evidence of the practice of incorrect registration that can be extracted from the records of adoption agencies. The sampling exercise will provide information to assist me to reach a decision about what subsequent action might be required to identify more fully the scale of incorrect birth registrations.
The report of the review is due to be submitted to me by mid October.
The full terms of reference of the review are on my Department's website.
