Vol. 463 No. 6
123 Ms. F. Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Health whether the practice of notifying the diocesan clergy of details of each adoption completed by the Adoption Board is still in operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6953/96]
Where a child has been baptised in the Roman Catholic Church prior to the making of an adoption order, the Adoption Board notifies the Catholic diocese in which the adopters live in order that details of the adoption relating to the baptismal record can be entered in the special register maintained by each diocese for this purpose. This arrangement ensures that adoptive parents are able to obtain a new baptismal certificate for the adopted child in their own names. Adopters and adopted persons are not allowed sight of the baptimal entry in the special register to ensure that confidentiality is maintained.
I understand that in the case of the other Christian denominations the need for notification does not arise because it is the practice to delay the baptism until the adoption has been finalised, at which stage the child is then baptised in the name of the adopters.
