Adoption bill delayed as 1,200 amendments put forward

Scrutiny of the legislation was due to begin this week but politicians from across the political spectrum have raised concerns about it

0 Sinn Fein spokesperson on Children, Kathleen Funchion, TD, who is Chair of the Children's Committee, said campaigners had raised significant concerns with parts of the Birth Information and Tracing Bill put forward by Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman, which has resulted in the large number of proposed alterations.

A Bill to give adopted people access to their birth certs and other personal information has been delayed after becoming bogged down with more than 1,200 amendments.

Scrutiny of the legislation was due to begin later this week, however, the Bills office has been unable to get through the massive number of amendments tabled by politicians from across the political spectrum.

In a full year the Oireachtas Bills office deals with an average of 4,500 amendments relating to all Bills.

Chair of the Children's Committee Kathleen Funchion said campaigners had raised significant concerns with parts of the Birth Information and Tracing Bill put forward by Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman, which has resulted in the large number of proposed alterations.

The Sinn Féin TD said her party has tabled around 300 amendments, including a proposal to scrap part of the bill which would require people to attend an information session if a 'no-contact preference' has been lodged by a relative.

Privacy rights

"Our main amendments are around the mandatory information session. We don't believe that should go ahead, there's no need as far as we can see for a meeting or a phone call," she said, adding that sending preference details via registered post would solve any concerns around privacy rights.

Other amendments tabled by Sinn Féin focus on access to medical information as Ms Funchion said there should be no "grey areas" in relation to this.

Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns, who is also a member of the committee, said the unusual number of amendments represents "yet another example of this Government failing to engage with survivors' groups and willing to take onboard their concerns".

She said: "We had weeks of pre-legislative scrutiny where survivors and human rights experts outlined the major issue with the Bill, while the Minister made some adjustments, glaring issues, such as the mandatory information session, remain.

Again, the Government has underestimated the public and political will to do what is right by survivors of institutional abuse.

She urged Mr O'Gorman to accept the amendments put forward so that adoptees are provided with unfettered access to their personal information, including health records and birth certs.

In a statement a spokesperson for the Oireachtas said the business committee had agreed to defer scrutiny of the bill for a week "owing to the large number of amendments received".

"The number of amendments which will be on final list will be less than those received owing to duplications," the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, draft legislation to allow for excavation and exhumation on mother and baby home sites is to be brought to cabinet on Tuesday.