Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone has acknowledged the “distress” experienced by adopted and illegally adopted people who are being refused access to personal information held by State bodies. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs said Ms Zappone is aware “of the challenges being experienced by Tusla in relation to the release of information”. Tusla said the agency assesses the “likelihood of someone being harmed or not harmed” before it decides whether to release personal information to adopted people about their early lives. Tusla has also, in some cases, refused to release specific personal information to adopted people — namely first name at birth and place of birth. Tusla has cited the Adoption Act 2010 which “states that the adoption records are not open to the public” as a reason for refusals.

Source: Irish Examiner October 13, 2019 22:52 UTC