parents who gave up children for adoption will be entitled to find out the names of the adoptive parents once the children reach 18, according to proposed legislation cleared by the Cabinet yesterday.
The new Adoption Bill, which the Government intends to enact next year, will also give the more than 40,000 adopted people in the State access to their original birth certificates at 18.
In addition it will entitle people adopted after the passage of the legislation, not only to their original birth certificates, but to detailed files concerning their adoption.
These files will contain information which will not only name the birth mother but may make it easy to trace her whereabouts.
It will be an offence for adopted children to make contact with their birth parents on foot of this information, unless prior consent has been granted.
It will also be an offence in the reverse situation where a birth parent makes contact with their child who was given up for adoption unless prior consent is obtained.
The right to fuller information from files held by the adoption agency is to be confined to those adopted after the passage of the legislation.
The Minister of State for Health, Ms Mary Hanafin, who is responsible for the area, last night acknowledged there were great sensitivities to be considered in the legislation.
"In drafting it we will be making every effort to ensure all rights are respected", she said.
Under the Bill, a new national adoption authority will be established to replace the Adoption Board. The authority will be responsible, not only for domestic adoption but international adoption, by far the most common form of adoption in the State.
The provisions improving the rights of access to information will be confined to domestic adoption, however.