Adopted children to get more rights in new draft legislation

By John Downing And Ralph Riegel
Irish Independent
June 16, 2014

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/adopted-children-to-get-more-rights-in-new-draft-legislation-30356881.html

Charlie Flanagan

CHILDREN'S Minister Charlie Flanagan is to extend adopted children's rights to allow them to seek information about their birth parents. New draft legislation is to be published within a month.

It has also emerged that the upcoming mother and baby home inquiry is expected to seek crucial documentation from US immigration authorities and three American archdioceses over 'secret' adoptions in the 1930s and 1940s.

Mr Flanagan wants to have an outline of the Adoption Information and Tracing Bill published before the Dail summer recess in late July. "I take the view that a person's name and identity are fundamental rights. Everybody must be entitled in law to as much information as is possible," Mr Flanagan told the Irish Independent.
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The draft law was promised for last year but experts have warned about a conflict over the right to privacy for birth parents who do not wish to reveal their identity.

Last week the Taoiseach said the issue may require a referendum. Mr Flanagan has not ruled it out, but said he is now working with the Attorney General for an early draft of a law to maximise information exchange where there is no difficulty about consent on revealing parents' identity.

"I acknowledge there are constitutional boundaries but we are working to advance a legal and administrative system which will help birth parents and adopted children to find out about one another," he said.

So far there have been almost 700 matches between adopted children and birth parents. Mr Flanagan said he hopes this work can continue and that maximum benefit can be taken from cases where both sides want to reveal their identity.

"This is an extremely sensitive and difficult issue. But progress can be made," Mr Flanagan said.

Overseas adoptions, together with vaccine trials in Irish mother and baby homes between the 1930s and 50s, will form the most complex element of the inquiry.

Campaigners worry the Irish inquiry cannot properly clarify such 'secret' adoptions without gaining access to US documentation for what could be up to 1,000 adoptions over 40 years.