REPORT URGES STATE INQUIRY

THE independent report commissioned by the Government on illegal adoptions in Ireland recommends the establishment of a State inquiry.

The report – authored by the Government’s special rapporteur on child protection Conor O’Mahony – also says those affected by illegal birth registrations should receive a State apology.

Some 17 recommendations are featured in the 38-page report. These include the need for the State to correct the birth register and enact its proposed adoption-tracing legislation to allow full and unqualified access to personal information as a matter of urgency.

It also calls for the Government to acquire and centralise all adoption files in one location – including files currently in private ownership.

The report says this should be followed by a targeted investigation to determine the scale of illegal adoptions here and to inform those affected.

Prof O’Mahony said a failure to do so would be ‘indefensible’ and means the true figure of those affected by the practice of illegal registration in Ireland would never be known.

Following the publication of the report, Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman said the Government would offer those who were illegally adopted an apology in the Dáil during the advancement of the upcoming Birth Information and Tracing Bill.

Mr O’Gorman also announced the Government would make once-off payments of €3,000 to affected individuals.

This payment, which will be given only to individuals whose illegal adoptions were facilitated by St Patrick’s Guild, would represent a contribution towards costs associated with, for example, DNA testing and legal fees.