Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth launches report on the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2021

The purpose of the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2021 is to enshrine into law the importance of an individual knowing their origins. The Bill proposes a right to access birth certificates, birth and early life information for people who have questions in relation to their origins, and also all people who were adopted, boarded out, the subject of an illegal birth and others with questions in relation to their identity. The legislation also proposes the establishment of a comprehensive Tracing Service and a statutory Contact Preference Register to support people wishing to make contact or share information.

Following publication of the report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes in January, the Committee agreed, to prioritise the scrutiny of legislation aimed at bringing justice and closure to the survivors of Mother and Baby Homes, including the Birth Information and Tracing Bill. 

The Committee sought written submissions from interested groups and individuals and held a number of public meetings with relevant stakeholders including survivors of Mother and Baby Homes, advocacy groups, and the Department of Children. 

Launching the report, Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Kathleen Funchion said: “In all of this work we have strived to emphasise the rights and perspectives of the people affected, and to have those rights and perspectives reflected in the legislation. To this end, we urge the Minister to consider the testimony the Committee received with compassion and to implement the recommendations in this report.

"The Committee acknowledges the genuine efforts made in the current draft of the Bill to enable the release of more information than previously available to those with questions about their origins and past. It is, thankfully, a new departure compared to previous efforts to legislate in this area. However, the Committee is of the view that the Minister needs to make some significant changes during the redrafting process in order to maximise the potential for this legislation to vindicate the rights of those affected.” 

“The Members of the Committee and I are grateful for the compelling evidence that everyone has brought before us. I also want to acknowledge the many others who may have been affected by the issues this legislation seeks to address and those who felt they could not come forward to engage formally with this process.” 

“The Committee would like to take this opportunity to commend survivors for their advocacy and determination to ensure their rights are upheld.”

“For many adopted people, they have been denied their basic rights for far too long. Everyone has the right to know who they are, where they were born, the name they were given at birth and their birth parent’s names.”

The Committee has identified key issues surrounding the Bill and has made 83 recommendations:

Some of the key recommendations include:

•             Removal of the mandatory information session

•             Broadening of key definitions within the Bill, including the incorporation of the full list of known institutions and agencies that were involved with forced family separation

•             Enhanced rights to files and information for mothers

•             Information rights for siblings and immediate relatives of the deceased

•             The use of DNA testing in some circumstances and more emphasis on engaging the services of archivists and genealogists

•             The provision of birth and early life information to adopted children from age 12, with additional age-appropriate supports provided

•             Broadening of the publicity and information campaign

•             Statutory timeframes for compliance with information requests

•             Strengthening of the oversight process and appeals mechanism, including the introduction of an independent oversight mechanism such as an Ombudsperson to oversee the work and support people accessing services under the Bill. 

•             Revisions to the parts of the Bill that deal with the release of medical information to ensure that the information is provided directly to the person themselves

•             The commitment to a review of the legislation, no later than 18 months after commencement, to include meaningful participation of relevant stakeholders and experts

•             The establishment of a new agency as soon as possible and no later than two years after commencement, with the current agencies to deliver the services under the Bill in the meantime with no delays once the Bill is commenced

•             Expansion of the counselling services, to include counselling for all affected parties, access to different forms of counselling, including psychologists, and interventions to deal with trauma as well as enabling individuals to have a choice of provider

The report and its recommendations can be read here. 

The Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.