More than 16,000 people register with adoption authority 

Adoption Authority Ireland (AAI) chief executive, Patricia Carey, said: "To have more than 2,000 people register their preferences on the new Contact Preference Register in just 11 weeks shows how important and much anticipated these new services are for those affected by adoption."

Some 16,634 people — including those who were adopted, birth parents, and other relatives — have registered with the Adoption Authority of Ireland to state their preferences about making contact with birth relatives.

New figures also show that 2,174 people have joined the new Contact Preference Register (CPR), established on July 1 this year as part of the enactment of the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022, and which replaces the old National Adoption Contact Preference Register (NACPR), on which 14,460 people were registered.

It comes ahead of birth information and tracing services becoming available on October 3 next.

The data from the Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI) shows Dublin is the county with the most applicants (3,400 adoptees and 983 relatives), followed by Cork (1,507 and 443), and then Kildare (456 and 166).

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Of the Contact Preference Register (CPR) contacts, most have been made online and 1,743 applications were made by people in Ireland, with 119 coming from the UK, 49 coming from the USA and 245 from the rest of the world. There were also 18 applications regarding illegal birth registrations.

Adoption Authority CEO Patricia Carey said: “People in Ireland who were adopted, boarded out or had their birth information illegally registered have waited a very long time to gain access to their own information. Finally, from October 3, they will be able to apply for and receive unredacted information about their birth and earlier years.

“There has been an incredible response to the public information campaign around this landmark legislation. To have more than 2,000 people register their preferences on the new Contact Preference Register in just 11 weeks shows how important and much anticipated these new services are for those affected by adoption."