Tressa Reeves’s decade-long battle to get the State to tell her son the truth about his birth

Despite protesting otherwise, the State knew about the practice of illegal adoption for years, with Tressa Reeves gathering evidence of her son’s illegal registration in 1997 and the authorities informed in 2001, writes Conall Ó Fátharta.

“Incorrect birth registration has very significant implications for individuals, in terms of identity. The State’s responsibility, once it has evidence of such practices to a high level of certainty, is to inform the individuals concerned.”

That’s the view of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) as expressed just this month. It is, of course, the only sensible and logical view to hold on such matters.