Historic adoptees will not have legal right to trace parents

ADULTS who were put up for adoption when they were babies are not going to be given legal entitlement to trace their natural parents, according to the Minister for Children.

For the past decade adoption groups have been lobbying for legislation giving rights on family information and tracing.

A public consultation process in 2003 recommended putting tracing and reunion services on a legislative footing. In Britain, the 1975 Children’s Act allowed for adopted people to receive unhindered access to their original records and adoption files on turning 18.