The New Adoption bill

The_Kew_Tour

My Dad was adopted. Under the new bill is it possible for family members to track them even if my Father may not want to and if so whats \where good place to start

Hermy

This adoption bill offers very little new in my opinion for those wishing to trace their past.
And worryingly it looks for adopted people to sign a form promising not to contact their birth parents.
As I see it this Bill is just another attempt by the government to put a barrier between us and our pasts.

Hermy

The place to start Kew if you haven't already is to have a look at the Tracing Guides?

Then, if you haven't already done so, maybe you can have a chat with your Dad and find out what if anything he knows about his past. Does he know his date and place of birth? Does he know his original forename? Does he know anything about his birth family - their names, where they came from, what they did for a living?

Depending on what you know or can find out from your Dad about his past will determine what you do next.

The_Kew_Tour

Hermy wrote: »

The place to start Kew if you haven't already is to have a look at the Tracing Guides?

Then, if you haven't already done so, maybe you can have a chat with your Dad and find out what if anything he knows about his past. Does he know his date and place of birth? Does he know his original forename? Does he know anything about his birth family - their names, where they came from, what they did for a living?

Depending on what you know or can find out from your Dad about his past will determine what you do next.

Thanks for advice. He away for few weeks but I do think when he bck I might ask him..
Of course he may not want to but will leave it to him.

The_Conductor

My issue with the new bill- is that potentially adopted people who are assisted with the provision of their original birth certificates- could be criminalised- if they then went on to attempt to make contact with their birth parents (and/or other family members). I'm glad I found my own birth cert myself for this very reason- as its obvious my birthfamily would definitely have nuked any attempt at contact.

This is an attempt to drag Ireland into the 20th century (I've deliberately said 20th rather than 21st)- and the manner in which adopted people continue, even in this mealy mouthed piece of legislation, to be treated- is nothing short of reprehensible.

The current situation- is open to challenge in international courts- in the same manner some of our other odious practices and laws have been. This attempt to forestall a few determined and intelligent adopted people from getting their acts together- and doing just that- reeks to high heaven.

Are Tusla going to get ringfenced funding for their part in all of this (the HSE funding went elsewhere afterall).
Is the Adoption Authority going to continue to be the decider on who gets information- and who does not?
Will birth parents continue to have a veto on the provision of documents?
Will the black pen continue to redact the papers some of us are managing to extract from Shelborne Road?

There are more questions than answers thus far- and I for one, unfortunately remain to be convinced that this is the sop to adopted people that the media are portraying it to be (well- the Irish Times- the Indo et al. have been strangely mute on it all).

Hermy

It almost seems like a reaction to the information age. Social media, adoption advocacy websites and the growing on-line genealogy community has meant that many of us searching for our pasts no longer need to go down official channels in order to identify our birth families. Is it the case that the powers that be are losing their grip on the flow of information and perhaps they see this as a way of repositioning themselves. Maybe that's a bit tinfoil hat for some people but I just don't understand why they want to take a step backwards at a time when I really thought we were starting to pull back the veil of secrecy that lead to this whole sorry mess in the first place.

elecktras weather bomb

Hi all I am not a prolific user of this site due to family commitments but its great to be able to pop in and follow a thread if I need information of sorts. cheers folks! my husband was adopted out in 1984 as a baby , he had no luck in any information he sought he received two first names that is it . This whole bill business has him buzzing with every emotion imaginable I really feel for everyone at this time as I can see a lot of red tape ahead still. not to sound silly as this is all new to me too. when the bill is published where could one view? and is it only a certain amount will receive birth certs ?I am finding very little coverage media wise . cheers in advance folks !

Ostrom

The full bill is some way off yet. The heads are usually a first run from the parliamentary draftsman's office, it can be amended at committee or house stages (unlikely as bills don't usually reach the floor without party consensus). Dail transcripts are published online, as is all legislation.

The_Conductor

Ostrom wrote: »

The full bill is some way off yet. The heads are usually a first run from the parliamentary draftsman's office, it can be amended at committee or house stages (unlikely as bills don't usually reach the floor without party consensus). Dail transcripts are published online, as is all legislation.

Consensus is that it will not be enacted in this parliament- it will be the next government, whoever they may be, who will ultimately bring it in.

While I accept the bill contains provisions of immense use to adopted people-I continue to have serious misgivings about several ambiguities in the bill- not least the declarations its suggested we all sign, the possible criminalisation associated with people who go on to contact birth families- and indeed- Tusla- given what happened with the HSE (where significant money was given to the HSE to provide adoption services to adopted people- and they subsequently went and repurposed the cash for other purposes- notably in HSE South- which encompassed Bessboro and Sean Ross Abbey- where a lot of us were born.

I hope my misgivings are proven to be misplaced- however, unfortunately, I've been around for a long time- and have seen a litany of promises broken. Even such heartfelt promises as those given to us by the late Brian Lenihan, when he was Minister for Children- came to nought.

Lets wait and see what happens- one way or the other- we are going to have to wait- as this process is only at the beginning........