Provision in proposed legislation ‘deeply insulting’ to adoptees
Claire McGettrick addressing the media at the Justice for Magdalene press conference in 2013. Picture: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland
The need for adoptees to attend an information session around privacy is “deeply insulting” and must be removed as a mandatory requirement from proposed legislation on the right to access birth information, an advocacy group has said.
The Clann Project, which involves the Adoption Rights Alliance and Justice for Magdalenes Research, has highlighted “major problems” with the Birth Information and Tracing Bill, which it said does not provide unconditional access to birth information.
Unless amended, the proposed legislation will further compound the culture of shame around adoptions, Claire McGettrick from the Clann Project has said.
The Clann Project is one of several campaign groups set to address the Oireachtas children's committee tomorrow on the proposed legislation.
The need for adoptees whose natural parent does not wish to have contact, to attend an information session was “deeply discriminatory”, Ms McGettrick said.
“It is predominantly based around ensuring that the adopted person understands the concept of privacy," she said.
The information session, she said, should be optional and framed as part of a service to all adoptees, possibly offered as an information booklet.
Ms McGettrick said there were also concerns around how data protection legislation is being applied, and that "explicit" definitions are needed for different categories of information.
“Without clear guidance, those holding the information will veer on the side of giving less information rather than more,” she said.
The Clann Project is also calling for the legislation to be extended to “all known” institutions and agencies involved in adoptions and forced separations, for all administrative records to be opened up, for a gap around access to information for the siblings of adopted people to be addressed, and for an “immediate” move to centralise and safeguard records.
“This bill needs to start framing things in an entirely different way,” said Ms McGettrick.
“If the Government truly believes us, that what happened was wrong, at the moment it’s not going about making reparation for that in the correct way, because this bill will make matters worse unless it is amended.”
