Wednesday, May 12, 2021: Barnardos has welcomed the publication of the Birth Information and Tracing Legislation Draft Bill published yesterday. The organisation, who has been working with birth mothers and adopted adults for over thirty years, says the opportunity to allow for adopted adults to finally access their information is a momentous step.
Speaking today Christine Hennessy, Project Leader of Barnardos Post Adoption and Origins Service said, “The publication of this Bill is a historic moment for the thousands of people who have not had the right to access their birth information.
“We are particularly supportive of the inclusion of state provision of tracing services which is a huge step forward. Built into the legislation is the provision for GDPR to be overridden in such tracing, a key inclusion that will potentially benefit thousands of people. Also crucial to this Bill is the provision of counselling for birth mothers and we would also recommend that this counselling will be made available to adopted adults, many of whom may benefit greatly from counselling and group work services.
“The successful enactment of this Bill will depend on the adequate resourcing of the Adoption Authority of Ireland to provide the range of services required within the enactment of this bill.
“An additional welcome element of this Bill is that birth information including items left by the birth mother are to be provided to the adoptee.
“Our one concern is the limited timeframe for birthmothers to register their contact preference. From commencement of the Act a limited three month window is available which is a very short time period. While the publication will rightly bring joy to many, we must remember for those that do not wish to be contacted, this Bill may bring about concern and anguish. We would ask that this timeline be extended if possible, in consideration of all parties involved.
“Finally, we would like to congratulate all parties involved in this process, and those who have been involved over many years to bring this legislation to the table.”
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About Barnardos
Barnardos’ mission is to deliver services and work with families, communities, and our partners to transform the lives of vulnerable children who are affected by adverse childhood experiences. Because childhood lasts a lifetime www.barnardos.ie END