# Adoption

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# Adoption

Illegal adoptees 'forced to break the law' by using their falsified birth certificates

An Oireachtas committee heard from a number of representative groups today.

11.2k

Oct 19th 2021, 5:53 PM

# Adoption

Agencies tasked with supporting adopted adults ‘not fit for purpose’, Committee hears

Findings from the Adoptee Voices report were presented to the Oireachtas Children’s committee today.

8.9k

Oct 5th 2021, 9:22 PM

# Adoption

Adoption tracing legislation ‘risks being found unconstitutional’, O'Gorman tells Committee

Failure to balance the privacy rights of mothers with the identity rights of children could spark legal challenges to new laws, he said.

7.7k

Sep 28th 2021, 5:35 PM

# Adoption

O'Gorman says term 'birth mother' is 'reductive and hurtful' ahead of legislation debate

The minister is set to discuss the Birth Information and Tracing Bill at a meeting of the Oireachtas Children’s Committee this afternoon.

27.1k

Sep 28th 2021, 11:36 AM

# forced adoption

Woman's signature forged on letter saying nuns from Mother and Baby Home 'deserve a medal'

The survivor saw the letter, written in 1980, for the first time last month.

The survivor saw the letter, written in 1980, for the first time last month, Órla Ryan reports

"I think ye should all be presented with a medal for your fantastic work," the letter states

The woman believes her late mother wrote the letter praising the nuns, pretending to be her

57.5k

Jul 31st 2021, 12:05 AM

# information and tracing

Denying adopted people access to their birth certs 'could re-traumatise them'

Survivors of Mother and Baby Homes have said “the right to truth is key”, an Oireachtas Committee heard today.

6.5k

Jul 13th 2021, 5:16 PM

# High Court

Mother and Baby Homes: Three test cases could be used as survivors seek judicial review

Eight women are taking legal action against the State.

13.9k

Updated

Jul 13th 2021, 10:42 AM

# alternate report

O'Gorman 'welcomes' new report that contradicts findings of Mother and Baby Home Commission

A new report has found “significant evidence” of inhuman treatment and forced adoptions in Mother and Baby Homes.

26.2k

Updated

Jul 12th 2021, 4:20 PM

# terri harrison

'The Irish Handmaid's Tale': Mother and Baby Home survivor says reality was worse than fiction

“We were just like machines for them, they definitely dehumanised us.”

23.6k

Jun 19th 2021, 9:00 AM

# Adoption

Adopted people seeking records ‘should be provided with counselling supports’, committee hears

Tusla CEO Bernard Gloster has said the provision of counselling should be underpinned by law.

6.5k

Jun 15th 2021, 9:05 PM

# identity

Tusla apologises for 'hurt' felt by adoptees seeking access to personal information

An adoptee rights group said that Tusla’s apology is a “long overdue acknowledgement” of adoptees’ pain.

11.2k

Updated

Jun 15th 2021, 4:30 PM

# GDPR

'Rape' and 'incest' listed as 'current relationship status' options on Commission form

A survivor’s daughter says the approach is “incomprehensible” and raises “serious questions”.

A survivor's daughter says the approach is "incomprehensible" and raises "serious questions"

The woman's form is "littered with inaccuracies" and "in no way" captures her suffering

"In what world is rape or incest a relationship status?"

105k

Jun 13th 2021, 12:05 AM

# Commission

'I am fuming, it's so disrespectful': Survivors react to commissioners' refusal to appear before Oireachtas

‘What the nuns said was sacrosanct, whereas our trauma was dismissed as stories’

Mother and Baby Home survivors say recent developments have silenced them all over again, Órla Ryan reports

One of the women taking legal action against the Commission's findings says she will continue to fight for justice

The commissioners have refused the latest invitation to appear before the Oireachtas Children's Committee

19.4k

Jun 12th 2021, 12:10 AM

# Clergy

Government 'failing to support' priests' children as they search for their fathers

Vincent Doyle said time is running out for the government to implement a UN recommendation.

34.9k

May 23rd 2021, 7:30 AM

# Adoptions

'Groundbreaking' legislation will give adopted people access to birth certs and early life information

Under the new law, even if a birth parent says they don’t want their child to get their birth cert or related information, the adopted person will still get access.

The legislation will provide a clear right of access for adopted people and others with questions on their origins to birth certs, birth and early life information.

The Bill will have to first undergo pre-legislative scrutiny, which is expected to take place in the coming months.

A separate memo addressing the issue of illegal birth registrations was brought to Cabinet this morning.

46.6k

Updated

May 11th 2021, 5:45 PM

# long lost sisters

Geraldine was born in St Patrick's, her sister Pauline was born in Bessborough - 50 years later they found each other

Four years ago a social worker “stumbled across” information that would change their lives forever.

Both women sought to find their birth parents, but instead discovered each other, Órla Ryan writes

A social worker 'stumbled across' information that changed their lives forever

They say adopted people have a right to their birth certs and medical history

51.9k

May 2nd 2021, 12:05 AM

# Abuse

Drew Harris says Mother and Baby Home crimes 'difficult to prosecute' despite reports of rape and incest

An Garda Síochána has found “insufficient evidence” in the Commission’s report to start any criminal investigations.

17.7k

Updated

Apr 29th 2021, 5:55 PM

# burials bill

Bessborough survivor says more women 'will die not knowing if their child is rotting in a septic tank'

The Children’s Committee today discussed legislation that would allow exhumations and re-interment of remains at the sites of former mother and baby institutions.

15.9k

Updated

Apr 27th 2021, 6:15 PM

# AMRI

UN asked to intervene over Ireland's response to 'systemic racism' in mother and baby homes

The Association of Mixed Race Irish has asked the United Nations to visit Ireland and investigate institutional racism here.

14.3k

Apr 16th 2021, 6:00 AM

# High Court

Philomena Lee among women taking legal action against findings in Mother and Baby Home report

Lee’s life story was made into an award-winning film, Philomena, in 2013.

70.1k

Updated

Apr 12th 2021, 3:40 PM

# Adoption

'Imagine someone clicked their fingers and you had no family or history, that's the reality for thousands of us'

Adopted people have called for long-awaited tracing and information legislation to be published as a matter of urgency.

13.5k

Apr 6th 2021, 4:46 PM

# Redress

'Pay us and acknowledge what happened': Mother and baby home survivors want compensation and a remembrance day

Some survivors have also called on the government to take legal action against the religious orders who ran the institutions if they refuse to pay financial compensation.

28.6k

Apr 4th 2021, 12:05 AM

# birth certs

O'Gorman says adopted people will get birth certs and other information under new legislation

The minister has also launched a consultation process for a redress scheme for survivors of Mother And Baby Homes.

18.9k

Updated

Mar 10th 2021, 5:10 PM

# birth registration

Report into illegal adoptions estimates there are thousands of 'suspicious' files, but advises against inquiry

Minister Roderic O’Gorman says “deep ethical issues” arise in relation to illegal birth registrations, and an inquiry may still happen.

10.2k

Mar 9th 2021, 4:26 PM

Voices

Dr Peter Boylan: The RTÉ Investigates programme reminds us of the issues facing the State-funded National Maternity Hospital

A private charity with Catholic values should not be given ownership of a State-funded maternity hospital, writes Dr Peter Boylan.

29.9k

Mar 6th 2021, 7:30 AM

# Adoption

'My mother gave birth to three children in three mother and baby homes in three years'

Beth Wallace wants to commemorate her brother who died, aged five weeks, 49 years ago today.

51.2k

Feb 19th 2021, 6:04 PM

# Multiple Sclerosis

'Lives could be saved': Woman with MS says adopted people should have access to medical history

“So many lives could be made better, saved, elongated, if doctors knew what they were testing for.”

25.8k

Feb 6th 2021, 10:30 AM

# Industrial School

'The brother whipped him until his back was bleeding, then gave him an orange to keep quiet'

Joe McAveety was born in a mother and baby home and grew up in industrial schools which were rife with physical and sexual abuse.

147k

Jan 30th 2021, 10:30 AM

# Commission

'Illegitimate children could contaminate the morals of society so had to be hidden and illegally adopted'

Adopted people and survivors of mother and baby homes say forced adoption was widespread, regardless of what the commission says.

34.3k

Jan 17th 2021, 8:00 AM

# Adoption

'We were told our mothers were prostitutes and ne'er-do-wells. My mother was a senior civil servant, aged 30'

Susan Lohan says adopted people have for decades been fed a false narrative about their mothers in the hopes they won’t try to find them.

122k

Jan 16th 2021, 10:30 AM

Voices

Opinion: It's finally time to admit that the Government's legal advice on adoption is wrong

David Kenny, Assistant Professor of Law at Trinity College, says the legal advice provided to Government in relation to rights of adopted children is flawed and a referendum on the matter is not needed.

19.5k

Jan 15th 2021, 12:10 AM

# forced adoption

Philomena Lee says Ireland must ensure mother and baby home 'atrocities' never happen again

Lee also said she is “dismayed” that some details from the Mother and Baby Homes report were leaked.

22.3k

Jan 11th 2021, 12:37 PM

# bessborough

How a 'surprising' lack of burial records impacted the work of the mother and baby home commission

Ahead of the commission’s final report being published tomorrow, we’re taking a look back at its interim reports.

21.4k

Jan 11th 2021, 12:05 AM

# Mental Health

Concerns raised for survivors 'torn apart' by 'omnishambles' of mother and baby home legislation

An adoption rights group said recent debates “have caused huge distress, with severe implications for people’s mental health”.

21.2k

Oct 29th 2020, 12:05 AM

Voices

Fionn Davenport: I was born in a mother and baby home - we have a right to our past

Writer Fionn Davenport says the government’s rushing through of legislation last night condemns survivors of mother and baby homes to 30 more years of darkness.

58.7k

Oct 23rd 2020, 9:04 AM

# no consensus

Adopted people will not get automatic access to birth records over parent's right to privacy

Minister Zappone said she was “personally deeply disappointed” that a consensus could not be reached on the issue.

15.6k

Dec 11th 2019, 10:25 PM

# eileen macken

81-year-old woman meets her mother for the first time after 60 years of searching

Eileen Macken spoke to Liveline this afternoon about meeting her mother Elizabeth, who’s 103.

61.6k

May 9th 2019, 4:23 PM

# Public Services Card

'I felt so humiliated, I burst into tears': Woman questions why she was asked for adoption cert when applying for PSC

The woman’s adopted status is not well known and she was unaware she would have to discuss the topic in public.

67.3k

Feb 17th 2019, 8:30 PM

# St Patrick's Guild

Six-month waitlist for counselling and confusion for those affected by adoption scandal despite promises

The HSE told Tusla it hadn’t received any direction on this, despite the Department of Children believing it to be the case.

13.4k

Jan 12th 2019, 12:05 AM

# Arc Adoption

Couples who were left in limbo after adoption agency shut down to get payments

Arc Adoption was licenced to facilitate intercountry adoptions from 2011-2014.

14.4k

Jan 10th 2019, 6:20 AM