Proposed adoption legislation under fire

A register established by the government in 2005 seeking to reunite adoptees and their natural parents would be discontinued under proposed new adoption legislation, and the information would not be transferred to a new service.

Adoption reform legislation, the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2015, proposes that Tusla would operate a new register, meaning that people on the old register would have to reapply for inclusion.

The original register — the National Adoption Contact Preference Register (NACPR) — was set up in 2005 and is maintained by the Adoption Authority of Ireland. It allows birth relatives and people who were adopted to express a choice for contact or a veto on contact.