Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 April 2024
115. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide an update on how many applications for information have been lodged with both Tusla and the Adoption Authority under the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022; how many applications are outstanding beyond the statutory maximum response time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19262/24]
View answerThe Information and Tracing services established under the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 opened for applications on 3 October 2022. As of 22 April 2024, the Child and Family Agency, Tusla and the Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI) have received 12,599 applications for information, and have progressed 12,260 (or 97%) to completion. No applications are outstanding beyond statutory timeframes. It is deeply important to me that thousands of people have now received their information under this landmark legislation, and there are no longer any delays on the release of information.
The Birth Information and Tracing Act enshrines in law the right to identity information for all those who are adopted, nursed out, boarded out, subject to an illegal birth registration, or resided in a mother and baby or county home institution as a child. It also allows for access to information by a child of a relevant person where their parent has died, and for access by the next of kin of children who died in an institution. It provides adopted persons with a clear and guaranteed right of access to their identity information, including information which is also the personal data of another person, as well as certain defined categories of third party information. This level of guaranteed access was not possible under the established data protection law, such as the GDPR, and this is what made the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 ground-breaking in nature.
The AAI fully cleared its backlog of applications for information in September 2023 and has been operating within statutory timeframes since then. Tusla has now cleared its backlog and the information services provided by both bodies are fully compliant with statutory timelines.
