Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 May 2017
14. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans for an alternative legal solution for illegally adopted persons that have been prejudged by the mother and baby home commission's failure to request the full facts on illegal adoptions from the Adoption Authority of Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22316/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes is independent in the performance of its functions. The approach to its investigation is a matter for the Commission and I do not have any information on its engagement with the Adoption Authority or other individuals, groups or corporate bodies.
In its Second Interim Report, which I published on the 11th of April, the Commission acknowledges that the term ‘illegal adoption' is used to cover a wide range of situations and actions including the incorrect registration of a birth. The Commission sympathises with the need for people in such situations to establish their true identity but reports that “it is difficult to see what assistance could be provided by further investigation.” The Report notes that “not even a national DNA database would assist all of the people.”
The Commission suggests that an amnesty from prosecution may help “to encourage those responsible to come forward and correct the record.” The legal implications and practicalities of any such amnesty need considerable further consideration and I will explore this matter further with the Minister for Justice and Equality and the Minister for Social Protection, in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General.
The Adoption Act 1952 provided a legal basis for adoption in Ireland. This brought order to what had been the system of ad-hoc arrangements in lieu of formal adoption procedures up to this point. Prior to the introduction of the Adoption Act 1952 some children were placed in life long family care arrangements, where a child was in the custody of a person other than his or her parent or guardian and where no adoption order was effected. These arrangements were never formalised.
The Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016 was published on 23 November 2016. 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. 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. The Bill provides that adopted persons, birth parents, relatives, a person who was in an informal arrangement where no adoption order was effected, and persons whose birth was incorrectly registered, can engage with the adoption information and tracing services to be provided by Tusla.
