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GAZETTE
N W
APRIL
.
1993
Barnardo
's Seek Change in Adoption Law:
Barnardo's Adoption Advice Service
has called for a review of adoption
law in Ireland in order to give adult
adoptees a legal right to their
original birth certificate. The
organisation says it is receiving an
increased number of enquiries -
now running at 60 or 70 each month
- from people who want to trace
each other.
Nora Gibbons,
team
leader of the Adoption Advice
Service, says: "It is very difficult to
explain to an adult in Ireland that
although they could be entrusted
with many important jobs within our
State, for example, they could be
anything from the President to a
member of the Dáil, head of school,
solicitor, barrister, social worker, that
the one thing that they do not have
a right to know is actually who they
are or where they came from."
Barnardo's say that over 38,000
adoption orders have been granted
by the Adoption Board since the
introduction of the 1952 Adoption
Act. However, the nature of Irish
society, in common with other
societies has undergone considerable
change since the 1950s. "Our clear
and established trend is following
that of other European and
developed countries in that we have
an increasing diversity of family
styles and adoption is an option
chosen by far fewer single mothers,"
says Nora Gibbons.
Increasingly, according to
Barnardo's, it is accepted that adult
adoptees in many instances have a
need to know of their origins.
Different countries have taken
different paths to meet that need. In
Scotland since 1930, in England
since 1975 and in Northern Ireland
since 1989, adult adoptees have a
legal right to their original birth
certificate. Ireland has not yet
seriously considered producing
similar legislation, although a
committee which reported in 1984 to
the then Minister for Health,
Barry
Desmond,
formed a majority view in
favour of informing birth parents
that from that point onwards their
child would have access to his
original birth certificate. The
Committee also recommended
counselling and that the wishes of
the birth mother concerning future
access to the birth records be made
known. The majority view of the
Committee accepted an absolute
right by an adopted person to have
his original birth certificate.
However, only a minority of the
Committee was in favour of any
such right of access being made
retrospective on the grounds that it
would be a breach of faith of those
parents who had placed children for
adoption on the assumption that
there would be no change in laws
governing these placements.
Barnardo's believe a committee
would come to a different view on
the matter today because there has
been a significant shift in attitude in
the intervening years. Both adopted
people and adoptive parents are
finding their voice in Ireland in the
media and in other outlets. Society
here is becoming more open about
many issues which were previously
kept secret.
Nora Gibbons says the issue is one
of human rights and she feels it is
an issue to which the legal
profession in Ireland should give
some thought and that the
profession should encourage a
change in legislation. Adoption
practices in the past, although very
successful, were shrouded in secrecy.
Nora Gibbons believes that the way
forward is by keeping confidentiality
but letting go of secrecy. She also
asked solicitors to consider
Barnardo's when giving advice to
clients about bequests.
pes
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