THE MINISTER FOR Children , Roderic O’Gorman, has signed an order allowing for Birth Information and Tracing Services under the new Birth Information and Tracing Act to be available from 3 October.

The first parts of the Act came into effect on 1 July with the establishment of the Contact Preference Register and the launch of the Public Information Campaign.

The Act provides that the preference register must be open for a minimum period of three months before applications for birth information can be accepted.

Following that timeframe, today the Minister today signed the Order which will commence information and tracing services in three weeks.

This will grant right of access to birth certificates, birth and early life information, where available, for all persons who were adopted, boarded out, the subject of an illegal birth registration or who otherwise have questions in relation to their origins. 

On 3 October applications for records can be made to the Adoption Authority of Ireland and Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, at www.birthinfo.ie.

It also allows for access to available 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.

Speaking today O’Gorman said: 

“This Act finally and conclusively addresses the wrongful denial of people’s identity rights over many decades in this State. We have finally found a way to provide a clear right for each person to full and unredacted access to all of his or her information where available. ”

“Now, as all affected persons will be able to avail of these new provisions, allowing unfettered access to their birth information, we will be able to see the positive, real world impact of the work we have undertaken on this Act.”

The Act also creates a statutory tracing service which will open for applications, as well as a range of new free counselling and supports to address issues arising for people affected by illegal birth registration.

The contact preference register, which opened in July, empowers people to record their preferences in relation to contact with others and the sharing and receiving of information.  

In the register’s first month online a total of 891 people applied.

786 applications were from adopted people, 90 were from parents and 15 were other relatives.

There were 820 people who expressed a preference for contact at some level.

There were 32 people who expressed a desire for no contact (24 adopted people and eight relatives), while 39 applicants (30 adopted people and nine relatives) did not want contact but were willing to share information.

Also in July, an awareness campaign was launched to inform people of the services provided for under the Act, which involved the delivery of an information booklet to every household in the country.