Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 March 2022
26. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his plans for the establishment of a State inquiry, including a truth commission model into illegal adoptions as recommended in a report (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15470/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra36. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the way he plans to respond to the recent report of the Ombudsman for Children in respect of the practice of illegal adoption in Ireland; if he plans to establish an inquiry on the historical use of the practice; if he will progress the Informal Adoptions (Regularisation) Bill 2019, or similar legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15339/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 26 and 36 together.
I assume Deputy Bacik is referring to the recently published report by the Special Rapporteur rather than the Ombudsman. In March 2021 I asked Professor Conor O’Mahony, the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection, to consider the significant complexities and challenges which arise in relation to the issue of illegal birth registrations, and to provide a report proposing an appropriate course of action. On 14th March 2022 I published the report which sets out 17 numbered recommendations.
In reflecting on these recommendations, I am pleased to confirm that the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022 can and will robustly fulfil the vast majority of the recommendations. In particular, it will provide for access to records; access to counselling and related supports; access to a statutory tracing service, including genealogy expertise and facilitated contact with family; an accurate birth registration; official recognition of the identity by which a person has lived; a specialist tracing service; and safeguarding of records. In addition, I am happy to move forward on recommendation 16 regarding a payment towards legal costs associated with, for example, a declaration of parentage, and have announced a once-off payment of €3,000 to the individuals affected by confirmed illegal birth registration in the files of St. Patrick’s Guild.
One of the recommendations relates to a State inquiry into illegal adoption. In reflecting on this recommendation, it is important to firstly emphasise that the Government remains committed to delivering on the comprehensive suite of actions set out in the Government Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions. These actions respond to the priority needs and wishes of survivors, their families and advocates. As part of this work, I am advancing an initiative for Recognition and Memorialisation of the Voices and Lived Experiences of Survivors. This will establish a process for survivors of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions to come forward voluntarily and share the account of their lived experience, with a view to having it formally recognised as part of the official record of the history of these institutions in Ireland. This work fulfils one of the core objectives of any truth commission, namely providing official recognition of the lived experience of the affected people.
The question of creating an effective non-statutory inquiry is a sensitive, complex and challenging one. The Special Rapporteur acknowledges this and, in particular, notes the challenges associated with access to records for a non-statutory inquiry. Again, the Government Action Plan contains important measures in this regard which are focused on access to records and the creation of a centralised State repository of records. In doing so, the Government recognises the potential for a future centralised archive to support further analysis and research on these important matters.
As a consequence of all of this ongoing work, the Government will need to give further consideration to this specific recommendation.
In the coming months, my priority will be to drive forward the Action Plan and deliver the Birth Information and Tracing Bill, which will provide full, unredacted access to birth and early life information for people affected by illegal birth registrations, adopted people, and anyone with questions as to their origins.
In relation to Deputy Bacik's question about the Adoption ( Regularisation) Bill 2019, I understand that this Bill sought to bring certainty to those whose births were illegally registered. Part 8 of the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022 achieves this certainty by providing important mechanisms for persons whose births were illegally registered. A new register will be established that will reflect the person’s social identity and a certificate from that register will be recognised as the person’s birth certificate for all lawful purposes, where that is the person's wish. It will also provide a means to legally recognise the affected person’s relationship with the parents who raised them, where that is their wish. Furthermore, I brought an amendment at committee stage which affords assurances to those whose births were illegally registered that any transaction entered into by a person in their social identity will not be invalidated because they were the subject of an illegal birth registration.
