Adopted people to gain right to information on birth parents

Planned legislation that would offer up to 50,000 adopted people a legal right to information about their birth parents for the first time has been described as a "major breakthrough" by Minister for Children Dr James Reilly.

The Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill will operate retrospectively and will also apply to all future adoptions.

The publication of the general scheme and heads of the Bill took place today.

People who were the subject of “informal” or illegal adoptions, or who were wrongfully registered, will also be able to avail of the information and tracing services planned under the legislation.

Many adoptees have faced difficulties accessing their birth cert, due in part to a constitutional right to privacy on the part of the birth parent.

Dr Reilly said officials had sought to strike a balance in the draft bill between the desire of adopted people to know more about their identity and the right to privacy of birth parents through a new statutory scheme.

In order to access records, adopted people would be required to sign a statutory declaration obliging them to respect the wishes of birth parents in cases where they do not wish to be contacted.

There will be no criminal sanction in the bill for failing to comply with this declaration.

The release of birth certs will, however, be subject to some conditions.

While there will be a presumption in favour of the disclosure of a birth cert, this will not apply if there are “compelling reasons” for the refusal, such as a person’s life being placed in danger.

In these cases, an adopted person could appeal the decision in court.

In addition, any additional identifying information - such as medical records - may only be disclosed with the consent of the birth parent.

‘Major breakthrough’

Overall, Dr Reilly said the bill marked a “a major breakthrough in dealing with the complex challenge of providing a statutory entitlement to identity information for adopted persons”.

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton said the denial of birth certs and identifying information in the past was associated with an era when adoption in the State happened "very much in the shadows, with little or no regulation and great secrecy".

She said: “As an adopted person myself who discovered the true identity of my parents only after an exhaustive and deeply emotional search in the late 1990s, by which time they were dead, I always thought that this was grievously wrong.

“This is why I welcome the publication of legislation today.”

Mixed response

The 200-page bill drew a mixed response from adoption groups.

Paul Redmond, chair of the Coalition of Mother And Baby Home Survivors, said it was a “very good day” for the adopted community in the State.

“Finally after years, decades and generations of secrecy, we’re finally coming out and joining the rest of the international community,” he said.

“We’ve been assured that substantial information from our files including our medical information is going to be released in the future pro-actively.”

But the Adoption Rights Alliance said the legislative proposals would impose “statutory discrimination” against adopted people.

Susan Lohan, the alliance's co-founder, said adopted people should have unconditional access to their birth certificates and files as a basic right, rather than having to sign a statutory declaration.

“We cannot possibly endorse what we have seen of the proposals as outlined by the Minister and his officials, as in some circumstances adopted people will be forced to sign away their rights in a way that further marginalises them on a statutory basis,” she said.

Claire McGettrick, also of the Adoption Rights Alliance, said it was important to separate the issues of information and tracing.

She said that adopted people are seeking a statutory right to information, as opposed to a statutory right to a relationship with their natural mothers.

“Adopted people can already navigate the civil records in the General Registrar Office to obtain their birth certificates, and additional barriers, such as an information veto and a statutory declaration that one will respect one’s natural mother’s privacy, are wholly unnecessary and offensive to adopted people,” she said.

But the alliance said it intended to “fully engage” with the upcoming committee hearings on the legislation.

“We are happy to work with Dr [James] Reilly and we wish to stress that the only statutory provisions we are in a position to endorse is where adopted people are given unconditional access to their birth certificates and files,” she said.

Mr Redmond said his group’s only issue of contention was a one-year lead-in to enacting the legislation.

Mr Redmond said a key breakthrough was the fact that “illegally and informally adopted people” would be given equal status with legally adopted people in terms of tracing and searching, as this was a very important matter for the community.