'Apologies carry little weight' - Report finds State was aware of birth registration for decades

A damning report has revealed the state was aware of the practice of illegal birth registration in Ireland for decades before any serious action was taken.

The report, compiled by the Government’s Special Rapporteur on Child Protection, also said that the “ad hoc, piecemeal and delayed reaction” to the illegal practice has “exacerbated” the impact on people.

Professor Conor O’Mahony has recommended the establishment of a state inquiry and a Specialist Tracing Team.

The specialist team would create a right of an expedited review for people who hold reasonable suspicions that they may have been the subject of an illegal birth registration.

In 2018, the child and family agency Tusla confirmed to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs that at least 126 children adopted through St Patrick’s Guild Adoption Society had been the subject of an illegal birth registration.

The number of confirmed cases has since risen to 151.

Illegal birth registrations occur where a birth certificate is falsified to register a child as having been born to his or her adoptive parents.

The practice has been a criminal offence in Ireland since 1874.

Prof O’Mahony said the practice violates the right to identity of the children affected, and often results in considerable trauma when adults learn that they were adopted by, rather than born to, the parents who had raised them.

The state is obliged to take steps to prevent and investigate the provision of false information, and to correct the register in cases where inaccurate information has been recorded.

In his 39-page report published on Monday, Prof O’Mahony said that a state inquiry into illegal adoptions should be established on a non-statutory basis.

“The inquiry should adopt the truth commission model and be informed by principles of transitional justice,” Prof O’Mahony said in his report.

“The scope, composition and working methods of the inquiry should be determined in consultation with persons affected by illegal adoptions, and consideration should be given to including such a person as a full member of the inquiry.”

The report concludes that the state was aware of the practice of illegal birth registration for decades before any serious action was taken to investigate the practice and mitigate its effects.

It also found that the action taken to date falls short of remedying the violation of the right to identity for many of those affected.

“The ad hoc, piecemeal and delayed reaction of the various state bodies to illegal birth registrations failed to discharge the state’s obligation to ensure accurate registration of births and to correct inaccurate registrations, and exacerbated the impact of the practice on affected individuals,” the report adds.

The report also states that the state should consider an apology to those who are affected by the practice of illegal birth registrations if it is requested.

“However, apologies carry little weight unless backed by practical measures to remedy the rights violation in question,” the report continues.

“As such, the state should implement measures aimed at the identification, so far as possible, of cases of illegal birth registration, informing individuals affected and correcting the register of births.”

The report makes a total of 17 recommendations, including the obligation on the state to correct the birth register, to implement legislation providing unqualified access to birth certificates and the establishment of a truth commission.

It also calls for all adoption records currently in private hands to be acquired by the state and held in a centralised archive.

It also calls for the Status of Children Act 1987 to be amended to allow for mandatory DNA testing of relatives other than potential parents in appropriate cases.

Professor O’Mahony tweeted following its publication: “This was one of the most challenging pieces of work I have undertaken.

“I am grateful to everyone who assisted me.

“I did my very best to balance a wide range of competing priorities and trade-offs. People may disagree with some of the recommendations, which is their right.

“We cannot go back in time and put everything right for people affected by illegal birth registration. But they were failed by the state for too long, and they deserve every effort to do what can realistically be done in the here and now.

“I hope this report aids that process.”

The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman said: “Since becoming minister, I have engaged extensively with people whose births were illegally registered, and established an Interdepartmental Group to consider solutions to the difficult and complex issues which arise.

“I am pleased that the Special Rapporteur, like the majority of people who participated in the consultation, approves of the measures set out in the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022. Progression of this Bill is a priority for me as minister.

“I will now further develop the Bill to take account of key recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur, such as the specialist tracing service to undertake an additional review of files.”

'The Big Top Concert Series' set to take place in Carlow

Taoiseach jets off to US for St Patrick's Day celebrations