An enhanced search-and-reunion service for adoptees and their natural parents is to be established next month by the Adoption Board. Four new staff are to be recruited in the next fortnight or so to operate its first dedicated search-and-reunion unit.
The unit is expected to reduce the backlog of cases currently with the board involving people seeking to contact blood relations. It will also prepare for the introduction of new legislation which will place the rights of adoptees, natural parents and adoptive parents on a more structured footing.
The legislation, following a consultation process which concluded last month, is expected to provide for a register of people affected by adoption who wish to contact natural parents, children or siblings. It is also proposed to establish a contact veto register, renewable by individuals every five years, for those who do not wish to be contacted.
Mr Kiernan Gildea, registrar of the Adoption Board, said it had been operating a search-and-reunion service for many years, but it had not been covered by detailed legislation.
At present, people are put in touch with each other if both parties have expressed a wish to be contacted. When someone approaches the board with a view to finding a relative, a search is made of its files to establish if the other party has also expressed a wish to be contacted.
Mr Gildea said the new legislation would make the rights of the different parties "clear and unambiguous", but would also involve a more generous approach than the current system, which was "quite restrictive" for both parents and adoptees.
When the new unit and new legislation were in place, a more enhanced and transparent service would be provided, he said. It was also proposed to have in-built appeals mechanism.
The plan to have a contact veto register has been criticised by Adoption Ireland.
