Ned O'Keeffe
Ceist:36 Mr. E. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Health if a person who was legally adopted is entitled to secure a copy of their original birth certificate. [11063/97]
Written Answers. - Register of Births.
Limerick East): A person in respect of whom the Adoption Board has made an adoption order under the Adoption Acts is not entitled to obtain a copy of his/her original birth certificate unless that person has sufficient information to identify the relevant entry in the Register of Births. An adopted person applying for a birth certificate will be provided with a certified copy of the entry relating to the adoption in the Register of Adopted Children.This certificate is acceptable for all the legal purposes for which the adopted person's birth certificate may be required.
The question of whether adopted persons should have a statutory right of access to their original birth records is currently being considered in the context of an examination of the most appropriate framework to be put in place to facilitate birth parents and adopted persons who wish to re-establish contact with one another.