State apology for illegal birth registrations 'less than ideal'

A one-off payment of €3,000 had been agreed for people registered at St Patrick’s Guild, but not to others.

The Government appointed Special Rapporteur on Child Protection has said the Taoiseach should offer an apology to people affected by illegal birth registrations.

Professor Connor O’Mahony’s comment follows an apology by the Minister for Children on behalf of the Government in the Seanad on Tuesday evening. 

The Minister said that what had happened “was a historic wrong with deep and enduring impacts”.

The 24 hours notice of the apology had been “less than ideal” Prof O’Mahony said. 

He said some people felt an apology in the Seanad was a “lesser form of apology” and was not of the same stature of previous apologies by the State, delivered by the Taoiseach in the Dáil.

Prof O’Mahony said the people involved had experienced wrongdoing for a long time and should have an opportunity to pursue the matter, adding that DNA had an important role to play in filling in the gaps of evidence.

DNA evidence

He is in favour of court orders compelling family members to provide DNA evidence, but the Government did not accept that.

When asked why a one-off payment of €3,000 had been agreed for people registered at St Patrick’s Guild, he said that cases at St Patrick’s Guild had been confirmed, and he felt that the scheme should be extended and made available to all on an equal basis.

Last night, the Children's Minister has said he is "truly sorry" for the anguish experienced by people who had their births illegally registered.

Issuing an apology on behalf of the Government, Roderic O'Gorman said what happened was "a historic wrong with a deep and enduring impact".

Those who were knowingly involved in the illegal registration of births committed a grave offence which robbed children of their identity and their right to an accurate birth registration.

"I can only imagine the deep hurt and anguish that people must have experienced on learning of their illegal birth registration; on learning that the foundations, on which their identity was built, is false. For this, I am truly sorry and I apologise on behalf of the Government," Mr O'Gorman told the Seanad.

However, he said apologies carry little weight unless they are backed by practical responses to remedy the rights violation in question. Mr O'Gorman assured those affected that the State is actively implementing measures aimed at addressing their situation in a comprehensive manner.

Landmark legislation

Referring to the Birth and Information Tracing Bill, the Minister said the "landmark legislation" would provide a "full and clear right of access to birth certificates, birth and early life information for all persons who were adopted, boarded out, the subject of an illegal birth registration or who otherwise have questions in relation to their origins".

A number of senators criticised the manner in which the apology was delivered and said the short notice given meant many of those impacted by illegal birth registrations were not able to attend.

Fine Gael's Mary Seery-Kearney said the apology should have been delivered by the Taoiseach on the floor of the Dáil and not by the minister in the Upper House.

Independent Senator Victor Boyhan said it would be "foolish and wrong" to suggest that St Patrick’s Guild was the only institution where illegal registrations took place.