The decision by the Cabinet to introduce legislation giving 40,000 adopted people a right to their original birth certificates, at age 18, is welcome, if long overdue. The Adoption Bill, published last night, will also give parents who gave children up for adoption, the right to find the names of the adoptive parents.
In addition, the Bill will give people, adopted after the passage of the legislation, access to detailed files concerning their adoption. This should make it easier to trace the present whereabouts of the birth mother. However, 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 for a birth parent to make contact with their child without prior consent. These provisions are clearly intended to protect those birth parents who gave up children for adoption on the understanding that their identities would remain confidential and who wish that situation to continue. However, fuller information will be released once the birth mother consents. The Government has stated its intention to have the legislation enacted by next year.
It has taken 30 years lobbying by bodies such as Barnardos and, more recently, the Adopted People's Association, to get to this point. However, there is a danger that insufficient time has been allowed for the enactment of this legislation before a general election - although it must be acknowledged that the Minister for Children, Mary Hanafin TD, has displayed a formidable ability to get things done.
In the past, many birth mothers were given little choice but to hand up their babies for adoption. Very often, the parting came with less than twelve hours' notice. Later they, and the adopted children, found all doors shut against them when they tried to contact each other. Matters have improved in recent years but adoption societies still take what, to adoptees, seems an inordinate amount of time to extract information from their files and to make contact with birth parents. For that reason, the granting of access to original birth certificates at 18 is welcome.
Yesterday's Cabinet decision reflects well on Ms Hanafin. During her time in office she has presided over - among other things - large increases in fostering allowances and in salaries for many residential child care workers, the establishment of a National Children's Advisory Council and an impressive attack on youth homelessness in the Dublin area.
The legislation may not be perfect. Some people will object to the fact that only children adopted after the introduction of the legislation will have access to personal files. However, it is a valiant attempt to balance the rights of adoptees and birth parents.
Adopted people have been entitled to their original birth certificates in Scotland at age 17 since 1930; in England and Wales at 18 since 1976 and in Northern Ireland since 1987. There appear to have been no tragic consequences.