‘Groundhog day’ delays to adoption procedures

Adoption campaigners have slammed the Government’s repeated delays in offering basic tracing and information rights to adopted people and natural parents as "Groundhog Day".

Speaking at an international adoption tracing and information conference held by the Adoption Authority, Children’s Minister Dr James Reilly said legislation was being prepared and would be brought forward “as soon as possible”. Such legislation has been promised as a priority by every government since 1997. Dr Reilly’s predecessor, Frances Fitzgerald, had promised the legislation would be ready by the end of 2012.

Dr Reilly said the issue was “complex” and had to balance the rights of adopted people to know their identity with those of natural mothers not wishing to be contacted, but said that the Government was committed to legislating for tracing and information rights.

However, Susan Lohan of the Adoption Rights Alliance said the minister could have been reading from the same speech delivered by every children’s minister who preceded him.

“For me, it’s just Groundhog Day. I am just flabbergasted that here I am in 2014 and I am discussing exactly the same issues I was discussing with Mary Hanafin in 2001; Brian Lenihan in 2003; Brendan Smith; the next minister after that, Barry Andrews; then Frances Fitzgerald [and] Charlie Flanagan for all of six weeks — and now James Reilly. There is an appalling record among Ireland’s ministers for children on adoption rights commencing with Mary Hanafin,” she said.

Ms Lohan said the issue of adoption in Ireland was only “complex” because the Irish State engaged in “crude social engineering and criminality” when it came to adoption. Ms Lohan also said the upcoming Commission of Inquiry into Mother and Baby Homes could not focus on just a handful of institutions and must be as wide-ranging as possible. She quoted Dr Reilly himself stating in 2011 that the scale of illegal adoption, as facilitated by more than 40 mother and baby homes was “unknown”.

“And yet we have seen from the first draft of terms of reference for the Commission of Inquiry that, maybe, only nine or 10 are due to be included.

Secretary of Adoption Loss: The Natural Parents Network of Ireland, Rhoda McManus, said she was “scandalised” that no natural mother was represented.

The conference included a range of international speakers examining how tracing and information is dealt with in Northern Ireland, Britain and in Alberta in Canada.