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SubmissiontotheDepartmentofChildrenandYouthAffairs

ACommentaryontheproposed

Adoption(InformationandTracing)Bill2016

inrelationtotheuseofDNAtestingbyAdopteesandBirthParentssearchingforeachother

Date:21stJune2017SubmittedbymembersofthegeneticgenealogycommunityinIreland:PaddyWaldronMAMLittPhDGeneticgenealogistISOGG-Ireland,member1

MauriceGleesonMBMRCPsychGeneticgenealogistISOGG,EducationAmbassador

GerardCorcoranGeneticgenealogistISOGG-Ireland,countryrepresentative

FinbarOMahonyBADip.PsychMBADBAGeneticgenealogistISOGG-Ireland,member

MargaretJordanBscHDEGeneticgenealogistISOGG-Ireland,member

MartineBrennanBA,Dip.Counselling,Dip.PsychotherapyGeneticgenealogistISOGG-Ireland,member

Theviewsexpressedarethepersonalviewsoftheauthors.

1ISOGG,InternationalSocietyofGeneticGenealogy

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TableofContents

1. KEYPOINTS.............................................................................................................................................3

2. GROWTHOFTHEDNADATABASES................................................................................................4

3. DNAANDADOPTEES............................................................................................................................5

4. THEPROPOSEDADOPTIONBILL2016–GENERALCOMMENTS...........................................7

5. TRACINGOFBIRTHPARENTS(PART4OFTHEBILL)..............................................................8

6. SUPPORTFORCONTACTINGBIRTHFAMILY............................................................................12

7. THENEWREGISTER(PART3OFTHEBILL)..............................................................................14

8. REQUESTSFORINFORMATION(PART5OFTHEBILL).........................................................15

9. RECOMMENDATIONS........................................................................................................................20

10. SOURCES&LINKS...............................................................................................................................21

APPENDIX1–“ADOPTEETESTING2016”SURVEY.........................................................................22

APPENDIX2–PROCESSFORREQUESTINGINFORMATION..........................................................24

APPENDIX3–BIOGRAPHICALINFORMATIONONAUTHORS......................................................26

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1. KeyPoints1. DNAtestingisheretostay.Ithasbecomeanintegralpartofresearchingfamilyhistory.2. Therearecurrentlyover7millionpeopleworldwideinthedatabasesofthemajorDNA

testingcompanies.3. Thisnumberisgrowingexponentiallyandispredictedtohit25millionbytheyear2020.4. Thisexponentialgrowthhaslargelyabolishedanonymity,inparticularforspermdonors

andbirthparents.5. The “right to anonymity” is not absolute andmust be clearly distinguished from the

“righttoprivacy”,whichisalsonotabsolute.6. ManyIrishpeoplearereconnectingwithrelativesviaDNA.7. The adoptee component of the worldwide “genetic genealogy” community is

disproportionatelylargeandincreasing.8. Successrates foradoptees finding immediatebirth familyviaDNAcurrentlyvary from

21%(non-US)to52%(US).Thesenumberswillincreaseasthedatabasesgrow.9. There is a considerable amount ofhelp and support available for adoptees from the

geneticgenealogycommunity(viaFacebookgroups,Forums,websites,etc)10. DNA testing is the only avenue of investigation for those peoplewhowere illegally

adoptedorwhosebirthinformationisgrosslyinaccurateornon-existent.11. DNAtestingshouldbearoutinepartoftheAgency’stracingservice.12. ThecostofDNAtestingshouldbebornebytheAgency.13. Professional genetic genealogists shouldbean importantpartof theAgency’s tracing

serviceteam.14. Thereisanurgentneedforeducation,trainingandsupportforadopteestohelpthem

contact and (if desired) develop a relationship with immediate birth family via DNAtesting(includingbirthparents,full&half-siblings&closecousins)

15. The government's dilemma always has been (and still is) to balance the rights andresponsibilities of adopted people and the rights and responsibilities of their birthparents. There is noneed for genetic genealogists to take sides in this debate, otherthan to point out that the solution must acknowledge the DNA revolution, and anyproposed solution that does not acknowledge the DNA revolutionwill be doomed toimmediatefailure.

16. The genetic genealogy community has the knowledge base and skills to assist in theprocess,andwearereadyandwillingtohelptheMinisterinanywaywecan.

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2. GrowthoftheDNADatabases1.DNAtestinghasbeenusedasatooltoaugmentfamilyhistoryresearchsinceabout2003,andanentiregeneticgenealogycommunityhasevolvedsincethattime.TechnicalprogressinrecentyearshasmadeDNAanalysis increasinglyaffordable.TheAncestryDNAdatabasealoneannounceditsfour-millionthmemberon27April2017.2Altogether,themainDNA-testingcompanies3haveover7millionpeopleintheirdatabases.42.ThesedatabasesaregrowingexponentiallyasthepopularityofrecreationalDNAtestingincreasesandby2020therearelikelytobe25millionpeopleintheseworldwidedatabases.Thiswillmakesearchingforrelativesconsiderablyeasier.53.ThesedatabasesincludemanypeoplebornorresidentinIrelandandmanymoredeemedto have Irish ethnicity. As a result, many people are connecting with Irish relatives andidentifying their Irishancestors.Thisappliesbothto the6million“Local Irish”andthe80million“DiasporaIrish”.4.SeveralleadingIrishpoliticianshavehadtheirDNAtestedandareintheDNAdatabases,includingtheformerTaoiseach,EndaKenny,andtheMinisterforCommunity&RuralAffairs,MichaelRing.65.ItisbecomingcommonplaceinIrishdocumentariestoincludeDNAtestinganddiscussionof the results as part of the programme – “Creedon’sEpic East”, “John Connors: TheTravellers”, “Adoption Stories”, etc. Some from our Irish genetic genealogy communityhavebeencalledupontoassistintheanalysisofthedataforpresentation.Thepublicarebecomingmore aware of such testing and how it can enlighten one’s family history andheritage. It is a natural progression for adoptees to considerDNA testing to aid them intheirsearchfortheirbirthfamily.

2https://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2017/04/27/ancestrydna-reaches-4-million-customers-in-dna-database/3AncestryDNA,23andMe,FamilyTreeDNA,MyHeritage,LivingDNA4ISOGGwiki-https://isogg.org/wiki/Autosomal_DNA_testing_comparison_chart5TheHistoryofGeneticGenealogyandUnknownParentageResearch,byCeCeMoore.JournalofGeneticGenealogy8(1):35-37,20166http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/11/21/the-genographic-project-returns-to-ireland-to-reveal-dna-results/

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3. DNAandAdoptees6.ThecommercialDNAdatabasesareofparticularvaluetothosewhodonotknowmuchabout their biological ancestry due to adoption, abandonment, infidelity, sperm or eggdonation and similar situations. In fact, a disproportionate number of those resorting toDNAtotracetheirfamilyhistoryareadoptees.Incaseswheretheadopteewasafoundlingorwherefalsenameswereusedatthetimeoftheadoption,DNAinformationistheonlyinformationavailabletotheadopteeinhisorhersearchforbirthfamily.7.Thefollowingstatisticsemphasisethegrowthoftheadopteecomponentofthegeneticgenealogycommunityandtheirrateofsuccessintracingbirthfamily:

• Asof12 June2017, therewere50,361members in theDNADetectives Facebookgroup,whichdescribesitselfasa"geneticgenealogygroupfocusedonusingDNAtofind biological family for adoptees, foundlings, donor-conceived individuals,unknown paternity and all other types of unknown parentage cases - recent andmoredistant".Thegroupisfullofstoriesofsuccessfulreunionsofbirthparentsandchildren, separated by adoption or other circumstances and re-united by DNAtesting.

• A recent worldwide survey7,8,9of over 1200 adoptees (see Appendix 1) who hadundertakenDNAtestingreportedthefollowing:

o 86%wereadoptedfromtheUS(14%outsideoftheUS)o 52%ofUSadopteeshadfoundasiblingorparento 21%ofnon-USadopteeshadfoundasiblingorparento 74%werestillactivelysearchingforbiologicalfamilyo 61%didnotreceiveassistancefroma“searchangel”o theirclosestmatchwhentheyfirstgottheirresultswas:

§ aparent2%§ asibling6%§ a1stcousin19%§ a2ndcousin34%

7TheseresultsarefromMarch2017andwerepersonallysuppliedinapowerpointslidesetbyBlaineBettinger.8PreliminaryresultsfromOctober2016(basedon575respondents)arebroadlysimilarandcanbefoundinAppendix1andhere…https://www.facebook.com/groups/DNADetectives/permalink/1200136676724114/?match=YWRvcHRlZSB0ZXN0aW5nIDIwMTY%3D9PreliminaryresultsfromJanuary2017(basedon700respondents)arebroadlysimilarandcanbefoundhere…http://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2017/01/08/adoptee-testing-a-study/

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8.Thusthereisaconsiderableamountofsupportforadopteesfromthegeneticgenealogycommunityandthesuccessrateforfindingbirthfamilyishighandincreasing.10,119. DNA testing will reveal any close DNA matches who are already in the database.Potentially,thesematchesmayincludeeitherorbothbirthparentsoftheadoptee.Otherclose DNAmatchesmay include full or half siblings, uncles, aunts, grandparents or close(firstor second)cousins. Therearemorepeople joining thesedatabasesall the timeandeachnewmemberwillhave theirDNA results compared toeveryonealready there.Thusadditionalclosematcheswillemergeovertimeandinmanycasesalltheadopteewillneedtodoistositandwaitforaclosematchthathelpshim/herconnectwithbirthfamily.1210.Analysisofcurrentmatchesmayidentifysmallgroupsofrelatedindividualsthatincludetheadoptee. If theconnectionofany twomembersof thesegroups is closeenough (e.g.second cousins), this may allow identification one of the adoptees four pairs of great-grandparents. A group of first cousins including the adoptee might then be identified,allowingoneofhisorhertwopairsofgrandparentstobeidentifiedandpossiblycontactedif still living. Ultimately, full or half-siblings of the adoptee may be identified andcontacted.If the birth parent or a full sibling or half sibling of the adoptee is willing toprovideaDNAsample,thentherewillbenoambiguityabouttheDNAresults.11. Thus theusual steps involved in theprocessof tracingbirth familyusingDNAcanbesummarisedasfollows:

• theadopteetestswithsome/allofthemajorcompanies-resultstake4-8weeks• theresultsrevealthattheadopteefrequentlyhassomerelativelyclosematches(2nd

to3rdcousins)withinoneormoreofthecompanies’databases• family trees for these close matches are examined (or constructed) and specific

ancestors (e.g. great grandparents) of the adoptee are identified at the point ofintersectionofthevariousfamilytrees

• allthedescendantsoftheseancestorsaretracedandpeoplelivingatthetimeoftheadopteesbirthareidentified–oneofthemwillbethebirthparent

• themostlikelycandidatesforthebirthparentareidentified(i.e.peoplewhowereintherightplaceattherighttime)

• potentialbirthfamilyrelativesareapproachedandaskedtohelpbysupplyingaDNAsample. In many cases, they are very eager to help the adoptee and act as“middlemen”,facilitatingcontactwithotherfamilymembers,includinghalf-siblingsandbirthparentsoftheadoptee.

10https://isogg.org/wiki/DNA_testing_for_adoptees11https://isogg.org/wiki/Utilizing_DNA_testing_to_break_through_adoption_roadblocks12https://isogg.org/wiki/Utilizing_DNA_testing_to_break_through_adoption_roadblocks

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• eventually, after sequential DNA testing of potential birth family, a close familymemberisidentified(usuallyahalf-sibling)thusconfirmingtheidentityofoneoftheadoptee’sbirthparents

• thesameprocessisrepeatedfortracingtheotherbirthparent12.Thus theuseofDNA involvesacombinationofDNAtestingand traditionalgenealogy(i.e. building family trees for any close genetic matches). Furthermore, testing severalpeopleisusuallyrequiredbeforetheimmediatebirthfamilycanbeidentified.Onaverage,thisprocesshasbeentakingabout2yearstocompletebutthistimescale isdecreasingasthedatabasesizeincreases.13.Therearealotofpeoplewhoarenotimmediatebirthfamilytotheadoptee(e.g.firstcousins) butwhowould like to be available to answer any questions should the adopteeeverwishtomakeenquiries.ThisisthesolemotivationbehindsomepeoplewhoundertakeDNAtests.14. The general guidance given by genetic genealogists to adoptees aiming to reconnectwithfamiliesseparatedbyadoption,whetherusingDNAormoreconventionalmethods,isnot to rush inwithout theadviceofanexperiencedgeneticgenealogist, socialworker,orotherprofessionalsupport,astherewillonlybeonechancetomakethecriticalfirstcontactwith immediate family a success. Inmost cases, the adopteemakes direct contact withtheir genetic matches (including immediate family) and the genetic genealogist merelyinterpretstheDNAresults,assistswithbuilding family trees,andgenerallypoints themintherightdirection.1315.Mostgeneticgenealogistsdonothavetheprofessionaltrainingorexperiencetocounselthe adopteeonhow tobest approach the first contactwith their birth family, or how tomanageexpectationsandemotionsassociatedwithdevelopingthisnewrelationship.

4. TheproposedAdoptionBill2016–generalcomments16.Anopenaccesssystemtoadopteerecordswouldbeabetteroptionthantherestrictedaccesssystemproposed.ThereasonsforthisaretheincreasinguseofDNAandthefactthatrestrictedaccessisnolongeratenablesolutionforthereasonshereunderdescribed.OtherEuropean countries have instituted this systemand it seems toworkquitewell for them(GreatBritain1975,NorthernIreland1987).17.Theexplosivegrowthofbothsocialmediaandgeneticgenealogyinrecentyearshasletthegenieoutofthebottleasfarasanonymityisconcerned.Thereisnolongerany13https://isogg.org/wiki/Utilizing_DNA_testing_to_break_through_adoption_roadblocks

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guaranteethatspermdonors’anonymitycanbesafeguarded.14IntheUK,legislationforspermdonorsallowsthemaccesstotheinformationabouttheirdonorwhentheyreachtheageof16.15AndinVictoria,Australia,anewBillwentonestepfurtherandfromMarch2017retrospectivelygavealldonorconceivedindividualstherighttoinformationabouttheirbirthparents.16Similarly,itisnolongerpossibletosafeguardtheanonymityofthebirthparentsofadoptees.AndastheextentofsocialmediaandthesizeoftheDNAdatabasesincrease,anonymitywillbefurthereroded.Thus,thereisnopointinintroducinglegislationaimedatclosingthestabledoorafterthehorsehasbolted.18. There is a need for a public discussion (globally) on the end of anonymity, theconsequencesarising from this, and theneed (if any) to instituteappropriate safeguards.This isa “hot topic”within thegeneticgenealogycommunityandclarityon the issuewillemergeandevolveovertime.19.Thereisalsoaneedtomakeaverystrongdistinctionbetweenthe“righttoanonymity”andthe“righttoprivacy”.Thetwoareverydistinctandseparateconcepts,albeitrelated.The“righttoanonymity”isprobablyseenbymostpeopleasbeinglessimportantthanthe“right to privacy”. And it is important to appreciate that the loss of anonymity does notmeanthataperson’srighttoprivacyislessenedasaresult.20.ThereareseveralareasoftheproposedBillthatwillbedirectly impactedbyDNAandtheseareaswillbediscussedfirst.

5. TracingofBirthParents(Part4oftheBill)21.Noteveryadopteewillwanttotraceand/orcontacttheirbirthparents.22. Formany, just the information surrounding their birth and the identity of their birthparentsissufficient.23.However someadopteeswillwant to go further than this. Theymaywish to know iftheirbirthparentsarestillalive.Iftheyaredeceased,theymaywishtopaytheirrespectsatthegraveside.Iftheyarealive,theremaybeadditionalinformationthattheadopteewouldliketogleanthatonly thebirthparentscananswer (e.g.currentmedical information).Ortheymaywishtocommunicatedirectlywiththebirthparents.Ortheymaywanttoexplorethepossibilityofhavingarelationshipwiththeirbirthfamily.

14https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/humrep/dew06515http://www.hfea.gov.uk/5526.html16http://www.bionews.org.uk/page_787504.asp

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24.ThusthereareseveralsituationswheretheAgencywillattempttotracethelocationofa birth parent. The first situation is related to a request for information regarding thefather’s name. If he has not been consulted about the adoption previously, then theproposedBilldictatesthathewillneedtobetracedinordertoobtainhisconsentforthereleaseofhisname.TheletterhewillreceivefromtheAgencywillapparentlycontainthefollowing:

a. you are the birth father (presumably he already knewbut thismay be thefirsttimehehearsaboutit)

b. youcanhavesupport&guidanceifdesiredc. yourchildwantsbirthinformationd. isthislikelytoendangeranyone’slife?e. youhave12weekstoreply

25.Thesecond(morecommon)situationiswhentheadopteewantstocontacteitherbirthparentdirectly.Insuchcases,theAgencywillactasago-betweenandhavingcontactedtheparentwillaskthem:“doyouwanttohavecontactwithyournaturalchild? If so,wewillfacilitate.”26.Therearenoexplicitdetails in theBill regardingthenatureof thetracingservicethatwillbeprovided.TheformthatthisservicewilleventuallytakeisentirelyuptotheMinisterconcerned.27.However,Note3intheFAQstatesthatpeoplesubjectedto“informaladoptions”willbeentitledtoatracingservice“inthesamemannerasanadoptedpersonorabirthparent”.17We welcome this undertaking because this will really help this specific group of people,manyofwhomhavebeen floating in limbo foryearsand levelsof frustrationarehigh. Insuchcases,DNAtestingistheonlyrealisticoptionasitistheonlymeansbywhichthebirthfamilyoftheadopteecanbediscovered.28.Wewelcometheabovemove,butwouldstronglyurgetheMinistertoclarifythattheuseofDNAwillbecomearoutinepartofthetracingprocess.Specifically,thewordingofthe proposed Bill obliges the Agency to use DNA testing to assist in the search whereconventionalmeanshavefailedtolocatethebirthparent.DNAdatafallsundertheheadingof“recordsthatarelikelytoberelevantforlocatingaperson”(section19-2-b).29.WewouldthereforestronglyrecommendthattheMinisterclarifythatDNAtestingwillbe used in all situationswhere accurate birth information is not available, for examplebecause:

17https://www.dcya.gov.ie/documents/publications/20161125AdoptionInfoTracingBillFAQs.pdf

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1. The information never existed in the first place, due to covert adoptions, illegaladoptions,orinformalcarearrangements

2. Theinformationwasenteredincorrectlyordeliberatelyfalsified3. Despite its best efforts using conventionalmeans, theAgency has been unable to

locatethebirthparent30.Thereare twomainoptions for the routineuseofDNAdataasa tracing record.DNAtestingcanbeundertakenbytheAgencyonbehalfoftheadopteeandthefullcostoftheDNA testing can be borne by the Agency. In this situation the Agency could assumeresponsibility formanaging the test results and contacting any geneticmatches that theadoptee may have. This helps the Government achieve its aim of protecting the birthparents’ right to privacy and bolsters any written undertaking (section 41) taken by theadopteenottocontactthebirthparent.31.ThesecondoptionisfortheadopteetocoverthecostoftheDNAtest.Inthissituationtheadopteeremains incontroloftheirownDNAdataandcontactstheirgeneticmatchesthemselves.However,iftheadopteefindsthattheirparentisamongtheirmatches(whichcurrentlyhappensinabout2%ofcases),thereispotentialforabreachofsection41oftheproposedBillinthissituation(i.e.theadopteehastoinitiallysignawrittenundertakingnotto contact his birth parents). In such circumstances the adoptee can undertake not tocontact the parent but rather have the Agency do it on their behalf … but such anundertakingmay not be necessary if the birth parent sees the closematch on their ownDNAMatchespageandgetsintouchdirectlywiththeadoptee.32. Ifanyothermatchesappearon theadoptee’sDNAMatchespage (forexampleahalfsiblingorafirstcousinorsecondcousin),thentheadopteecansafelycontactthesepeoplewithoutbeing inbreachof theproposedBill (whichonly strives to safeguard the right toprivacyofthebirthparentsbutnotthehalf-siblingsorcousinsoftheadoptee).33.Wemustrememberthatanymatchesthattheadopteefindsinthedatabasearepeoplewho have willingly and voluntarily submitted their own DNA for analysis, alerted to thepossibilitythatsurprisessometimeshappenandthattheymayfindcloserelativesthattheynever knew existed. In other words, everyone who has done a DNA test and is in thedatabase has been forewarned. And they havemade the informed decision to go aheadanyway.34.However,thosewhochoosenottomaketheirdatapubliclyavailablehavetheabilitytodo so. They may have already taken measures to privatise their own information. Forexample,somepeopledonotgiveanameandaremarkedas“Private”,othershavegivenafalsename,othershaveused initialsornicknames,etc.So ifanyof thepeoplewhohavetestedwantanonymityorprivacy,therearewaysofachievingthiswhichtheymayalready

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have employed. In addition, some people have chosen not to supply family treeinformation,thusfurtherrestrictingthechancesoftracingwhotheyare.35.Furthermore,amatch isundernoobligationtorespondtoanymessageoremail thatthey may receive. And if (for whatever reason) they do not want to have their DNAdisplayed publicly, they can privatise it, or remove it from public view, or even delete itcompletelyshouldtheysodesire.Sothereareamultitudeofsafeguardstoprotectpeople’sanonymityandprivacythathavebeenbuiltintothesystembythecompaniesconcerned(allofwhomwillhavetakenextensiveadvicefromtheirlegalteams).36.IftheadopteeistoretaincontrolovertheirownDNAresults,thissituationwillrequirethe adoptee to be trained in contacting their matches and in revealing appropriateamounts of information at various times during the contact, just as social workers havealwaysadvisedadopteesandbirthparentsseekingtomeetforthefirsttime.Hintsandtips,dosanddon'ts, socialetiquetteguidelines,andotherguidance for theadopteeshouldbedevelopedbytheAgencyandmadepubliclyavailableonitswebsite,inasimilarfashiontotheguidanceavailableon theAdoptionSearchReunionwebsite in theUK.18Thiswebsiteoffersguidanceonmakinginitialcontact,usingintermediaryservices,howtomakecontactviaFacebook,andhowtomanagereunions.37.Thegeneticgenealogycommunitywouldbehappytoassistinthedevelopmentoftheseguidelines so that the outcome of the adoptee contacting their genetic matches can beoptimized.Withoutthisguidance,peoplewillmakefauxpas,theywill“puttheirfootinit”,they will make mistakes, they will estrange and alienate people … in other words, tooptimiseasuccessfuloutcome,adopteesneedhelpmakingcontactwiththeirbirthfamilyandmanaging the initial reconnection. Theywill alsoneedongoingguidanceand supportdevelopingtherelationshipwiththeirbirthfamily(shouldtheywishtodoso)andmanagingexpectations (and emotions) on both sides. The Agency is well-placed to provide thisongoingeducationandsupport.38.TheintroductionofDNAtestingasaroutinepartoftheday-to-dayworkoftheTracingServicewouldneedtobeadequately resourced.Specifically,theMinistershouldconsiderthefollowingactionpoints:

• DNAtestingtoberoutinelyemployedintracingbirthparents• ThecostofDNAtestingtobebornebytheAgency• TheAgencyshouldexploreoptionsforspecialdiscounteddealswiththemajorDNA

testingcompaniesregardingthepurchaseofDNAkitso AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA, and 23andMe should be approached in this

regard

18http://www.adoptionsearchreunion.org.uk/contact/reunions/

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o AncestryDNAdatacancurrentlybetransferredforfreetoothercompanies• AgencystafftobetrainedinthebasicsofDNAtesting• ProfessionalgeneticgenealogiststobeemployedbytheAgencytoassist intracing

endeavours39.Throughoutthetracingprocess,whichmaybelongandprotracted,theAgencyshouldmanageexpectationsandprovideongoingguidanceandsupporttotheadoptee.Thisphaseof the search is often fraught with frustration, impatience, disappointment, bouts ofhopelessness,feelingsofjustgivingup,disenchantment,andexhaustion.Manyadopteesdonotcompletethisphaseand“dropout”fromfurthersearching.40. If theAgencydoesnotemployDNAtestingaspartof itstracingservice,adopteeswilltake this on themselves. This would be a less than optimal scenario. The ability of theadopteetonegotiatetheminefieldoftracingandmakingcontactwithpotentialbirthfamilywouldbe significantlyhamperedwithoutAgency support.The riskofanegativeoutcomewouldbemuchhigher.41. Thus it is imperative that the Agency nurtures the continued engagement of theadoptee in collaborative working with the Agency. And providing a comprehensive DNAtestingandadvisoryserviceaspartofitsoverallserviceisessential.Failuretodosowouldsignificantlyreducetheeffectivenessofthetracingprocess.

6. SupportforContactingBirthFamily42. One of the most disappointing aspects of the proposed Bill19(and the associatedmemo20andFAQdocument21)isthetotallackofdetailregardingthesupportofferedtotheadopteeincontactingtheirbirthfamilies.43.Therearemultipleexamplesofhowgovernmentagencieshavefailedadoptees in thepast,andhowtheseadopteeshavehadtousetheirownmethodstosearchfortheirbirthfamilies (e.g.Private investigator,DNAtesting,etc).Withoutprofessionalhelp, thesearchundertaken by adopteesmay be clumsy, ill-conceived, not thought through, fraughtwithpitfallsanddangers,andultimatelymaycauseunnecessarydistresstotheadopteeand/ortheirbirthfamily.Butthiscanpotentiallybeavoidedwiththepropersupportandguidance.44.WehavepreviouslystressedtheimperativeoftheadopteeremainingengagedwiththeAgency.Wewouldgofurtherandstressthatsuchengagementshouldcontinueevenifthe

19https://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/bills/2016/10016/b10016s.pdf20https://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/bills/2016/10016/b10016s-memo.pdf21https://www.dcya.gov.ie/documents/publications/20161125AdoptionInfoTracingBillFAQs.pdf

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adoptee refuses to sign thewritten undertaking (section 41) not to contact his/her birthfamily. And it should continue even if the adoptee decides to choose his own searchmethods. There is still a lot the Agency can do to support the adoptee even if it cannotreleaseinformationrelatingtothebirthparents.TheAgencyhasaresponsibility(accordingtothecurrentBill) toprotect theprivacyof thebirthparents,but thesameresponsibilitydoesnotextendtohalf-siblings(orcousins).Adopteeswhohavenevermetasinglebloodrelative are often thrilled to meet even a predicted third cousin. Parents may not wantcontact but half-siblings (or cousins) often dowelcome such contact. The Agency shouldhelpfacilitatetheseconnectionsifitcannotfacilitatecontactwiththeparents.45.IftheAgencydoesnotprovidethenecessaryadviceandsupportforadoptees,theywillstartknockingondoors,theywillinadvertentlyinvadepeople’sprivacy,andtheywillcausedistressandharm(tothemselvesorothers),especiallyiftheirleveloffrustrationbybeingblockedbytheAgencymakesthemmoredesperatethanevertomakecontact.46.Ratherthanawrittenundertakingnottocontacttheirbirthparents,itwouldbebetterto teach people how to contact them in a respectful way, observing social etiquette,cognisantoftherightsandsensitivitiesofthebirthparentsandtheirfamilies.TheAgencyshouldprovidesupportandguidanceinthisregardviaavarietyofdifferentmethodologies,including(forexample):

• one-to-oneworkwithadoptees• regularworkshops(e.g.seeBarnardos’PostAdoptionServices)22• onlinetrainingprogramme• usersupportgroups• socialetiquetteguide• Hints&Tipsfactsheet• DosandDon’tsguide• publishSuccessStoriesillustratingkeylearningpoints• andsoon…

47.Sucheducationalactivity shouldbuildon the resourcesalreadymadeavailableby theglobal genetic genealogy community23,24,25and should address such questions as: howdoyou make first contact? What do you say initially? When do you mention that you areadopted?Howdoyoubreakthenews?Howwillpeoplereact?Whatcanofwormsmightyoubeopening?Whatpotentialsituationsshouldoneremainmindfulof?Forexample,wasthererapeorviolenceinvolvedintheirconception?Howtraumaticwastheadoptionforthemother?22https://www.barnardos.ie/adoption23https://isogg.org/wiki/DNA_testing_for_adoptees24https://isogg.org/wiki/Utilizing_DNA_testing_to_break_through_adoption_roadblocks25https://isogg.org/wiki/Adoption_success_stories

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48.TheAgencyshouldestablishanAdvisoryCommittee,madeupofrepresentativesinthefield,includingadoptees,birthparents,adoptiveparents,socialworkers,adoptionactivists,genetic genealogists, tracing experts (search angels), legal experts, etc. The AdvisoryCommittee could advise on the general running of the Agency as well as educationalprogrammesforadoptees,publicawarenesscampaigns,etc49. There is a burgeoning need to support adoptees in searching for andmaking contactwiththeirbirthfamily.Toomuchofthisactivityiscurrentlyhappening“beneaththeradar”andthatisnotagoodsituationforanyoneconcerned.50.Inaddition,theadopteeandtheirbirthfamilywillneedongoingsupportinbuildingthenewrelationship,managingexpectationsandemotions,dealingwithupsetsandsetbacks,and working to achieve the most successful outcome possible for each individual andparticularsituation.

7. ThenewRegister(Part3oftheBill)51.ThereareseveralconcernsregardingtheneedtointroducethenewRegister(RACE).26Itisnot clearwhy there is aneed for this, inparticularbecause it appears toduplicate thework of the NACPR.27 Why reinvent the wheel? We are concerned that this will divertvaluable resources away from the other aspects of thework of the Agency, in particulardirectly supporting adoptees in their requests for information and the tracing of birthfamily.52.WearealsoconcernedthatpeoplewhohavealreadymadeanentryontheNACPRwillbe invited to re-enter their information on the RACE. Not only is this an annoyingduplication of effort but it raises concerns about what happens to those entries in theNACPRwhichhavebeenmadebypeoplewhohavesincedied.53. It appears that only certain entries will be transferred over to the new Register (i.e.thosewherethereisa“nocontact”preferencefromanaturalparent).However,itappearsthat “no contact” preference entries from adoptees will not be transferred. This couldpotentiallyresult inabreachoftheadoptee’srighttoprivacy.Furthermore,“yescontact”preferences fromnatural parentswill not be transferred. This could potentially delay thetracingofabirthfatherinrelationtothereleaseofhisnametotheadoptee.Alsoifthese“yes”birthparentshavesincedied, if their“yes”preferenceentry isnottransferredfrom

26RACE,RegisterofAdoptionContactEnquiries…whichisapartialduplicationofthecurrentlyexistingNACPR27NACPR,NationalAdoptionContactPreferenceRegister

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theNACPRtothenewRACE,thereisariskthattheadopteewillneverknowthattheirbirthparentwantedtogetintouch.Suchinformationwouldbecrucialforthewellbeingofmanyadoptees. Therefore, if transfer of entries is to be undertaken, it seems preferable totransferallentriesfromtheNACPRtothenewRegister.54.Lastly,wearealsoconcernedaboutthefutureintegrityoftheNACPR.Note6intheFAQstates that the NACPR will be discontinued but the data retained.28It would be veryunfortunateiftheNACPRwasdecommissioned,orthedatawaslostorcouldnolongerbeused. In effect, it wouldmean that the preferences of all other entrants (i.e. other thannaturalparentswitha“nocontact”preference)wouldbeignoredordiscarded.55.RegardingthenewRegister, itwouldbehelpful if individualscouldhavetheoptiontoedit their own entry on the Register, so that information (including contact preferenceinformation)canbeupdateddirectlybytheentrant.56. It would be helpful and informative to have an annual report published and madeavailabletothepublic (viatheAgencywebsite)regardingtheentriesonthenewRegister(RACE)andtheexistingNACPR.Thereportshouldincludeanonymisedaggregateddataonthefollowing:

1. numberoftotalentriesandannualentries(yearbyyear;since2005fortheNACPR)2. data on who submitted the entries (adoptees, birth fathers, birthmothers, other

familymembers)3. dataontypeofenquiries-number(%),brokendownbysubgroup(adoptees,birth

parents,etc)4. data on contact preference – number (%) of “yes” and “no” preferences, broken

downbysubgroup(adoptees,birthparents,etc)5. number (%) of cases in which birth families were re-united, cases in which birth

familieswere identifiedbut re-unificationwasnotachievedbecauseofdeathorarequestforprivacy,andcasesinwhichbirthfamiliescouldnotbeidentified

6. anonymisedexamples&casehistoriesoftheabove7. critical analysis of the work of the Agency, including an assessment of themajor

hurdlesexperiencedbya)Agencystaff;b)adoptees;andc)birthparents

8. Requestsforinformation(Part5oftheBill)57.Acleardistinctionneedstobemadebetweenthedesiretoobtaininformationandthedesire tohave contactwithbirth family.Manyadopteesdonotdesire contactwith theirbirthfamilybutinsteadsimplywishtoknowofanycurrentmedicalinformationthatmaybe28https://www.dcya.gov.ie/documents/publications/20161125AdoptionInfoTracingBillFAQs.pdf

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relevant tothemselvesandtheirownchildren;ormaysimplywishtoknowthenamesoftheir birth parents and where they came from in order to attain a sense of roots andbelonging,oreventotracetheirgeneticfamilytree(asopposedtothefamilytreeoftheiradoptiveparents).58.TheproposedBilldiscussesthedifferenttypesofinformationthatmayberequestedbyanadoptee(section23-1),andthisincludes:

1. copyofBirthCertificate–notapplicableuntilafter2035(i.e.2017+18=2035)2. Birth Certificate information (23-1-g), birth father’s name (23-1-h), and copy of

AdoptionOrder(23-1-i)3. Non-identifying information (relating to the adoptee’s early life, medical

information,etc)–section23-1-athrough23-1-e4. Otheradditionalnon-identifyinginformationnotincludedabove–section23-2

59.Inaddition,theremaybeContactPreferenceinformationavailableviatheNACPR.60.Theprocess forreceivingthis informationasdescribed intheproposedBill29(andtheassociatedmemo30andFAQdocument31) isnotterriblyclear.Aflowdiagramwouldhavebeenhelpful.Appendix2belowincludesasummaryoftheapparentprocessinvolved.61.Inbrief,anadopteeaskingforinformationwillexperiencethefollowing:

• Release of non-identifying information32(items 23-1-a to 23-1-e) will be relativelyquick (immediately following the initial review of their request for information –whateverthewaitingtimehappenstobeforthatinitialreviewoftherequest)

• Releaseofbirthcertinformation(exceptfather’sname)&copyofAdoptionOrder…o Willbeimmediate(ifbirthmotherisnotontheRegister)o Willtake12weeksfollowinginitialreview(ifbirthmotherisontheRegister–

shewillneedtobecontacted)• Releaseoffather’sname…

o WillbeimmediateifhewaspreviouslyconsultedandisnotontheRegistero Willtake12weeksfollowinginitialreview(ifhewaspreviouslyconsultedand

isontheRegister)o Will takemanymonths (i.e. >12weeks) if hewas not previously consulted

andisnotontheRegister(hewillneedtobetracedandasked)

29https://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/bills/2016/10016/b10016s.pdf30https://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/bills/2016/10016/b10016s-memo.pdf31https://www.dcya.gov.ie/documents/publications/20161125AdoptionInfoTracingBillFAQs.pdf32seealsopages7&8oftheFAQathttps://www.dcya.gov.ie/documents/publications/20161125AdoptionInfoTracingBillFAQs.pdf

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• Release of Birth Certificatewill never happen for those adopted before the Bill ispassed(unlessperhapsbothbirthparentsagree??There isnoprovision for this inthecurrentBill).

62.Ofparticularnoteisthefactthatonlythebirthmothercansanctionthereleaseofthebirthcertificateinformation(orAdoptionOrder),andonlythebirthfathercansanctionthereleaseofhisname.63.Sincesofewbirthparentsarelikelytoregister(theNACPRhasatleast10,000entries,which is not a hugenumber), in themajority of cases,most informationwill be releasedfairlyrapidly.However,inmanycases,thebirthfather’snamewillnotbereleasedwithoutatracingsearchfirst(whichmaybeprotracted).64.Soadopteesshouldreceivenon-identifyinginformationandbirthcertinformationfairlyquickly,butmayhavetowaitalongtimetoreceivetheirbirthfather’sname.65.Thereareseveralcircumstanceswheretheinformationmaynotbeforthcoming:

1. The information never existed in the first place, due to covert adoptions, illegaladoptions,orinformalcarearrangements

2. Theinformationwasenteredincorrectlyordeliberatelyfalsified3. Thebirthparentblocksthereleaseoftheinformation4. TheAgency takes too long to process the request for information (in particular in

relation to the nameof the birth father) and the adoptee abandons collaborationwithAgencystaff

66.Inthesecircumstances,theadopteemayturntoDNAtestingandundertaketheirownsearch toobtain the informationtheydesire.Theriskhere is that theydosowithout thehelp, guidance and support of the Agency. This increases the risk of harm that theGovernmentwantstoavoid.ItisimportantthattheGovernmentdoeseverythingwithinitspower to keep the adoptee engaged with the Agency in order to optimise a successfuloutcome for all concerned. To this end, requests for information should be processedquickly and tracing searches should be expedited. The Government should allocate (ordivert)appropriateresourcestoensurethatthishappens.However,thisseemsunlikelytohappenundertheproposedBill.67. Theproposedprocess forproviding information to theadoptee isoverlybureaucraticandresource-consuming.Anopenaccesssystemwouldbemuchlessso.Weareconcernedthat the proposed system is not an optimal use of the Agency’s limited resources. The

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proposedsystemwilldivertresourcesawayfromareaswheretheycouldbemoregainfullyemployed(e.g.tracingactivities,directsupportofadoptees,etc).68.Inaddition,theproposedsystemislikelytocausedelaysinobtaininginformation.SuchdelayswillcausefrustrationfortheadopteeandmayreducetheirconfidenceintheAgency,which inturnmay leadtotheadopteeabandoningcollaborativeworkingwiththeAgencyandundertakingtheirownsearchfortheinformationtheywant.Ineffect,thedelaysinthesystem will drive the adoptee “underground”. And this will increase the chances of anegative outcome, resulting in harmor distress to the adoptee and/or their birth family.Time is of the essence in these cases, as many birth parents are elderly and the worstpossibleoutcomewouldbeifabirthparent(oradoptee)diedwhilethecasewasheldupinthesystem.(Weareawareofacasewherea44-year-oldadopteeusedDNAtoidentifyher102-year-oldgrandmother.)69. In situationswhere the adoptee has clearly expressed that they do notwish to havecontactwiththebirthparents,weareconcernedthattheprocessdescribedofcontactingbirthparentstonotifythemthatanadopteeissearchingforinformationisabreachoftheadoptee’sprivacy.Theadoptee’srighttoprivacyshouldberespectedaswellandthisisnotadequatelyaddressedinthecurrentBill.70. In addition, forewarning the birth parents may deter adoptees from contacting theAgencyinthefirstplace.Iftheadopteedoesnotwantthenaturalparentstoknowthattheyare seeking information, they may turn to alternative methods for obtaining thatinformation (e.g. Private Investigator, DNA testing) and thus the real opportunity forworking collaboratively with the Agency is lost and the risk of a negative outcome isincreased.71.Furthermore,thisprocessofnotifyingthebirthparentinadvanceto“warnthem”thattheir natural child is seeking informationmaybe seen to be stigmatising of the adoptee.Moreover, asking thebirth parent “if the releaseof the information is likely to endangeranyone’s life” is unnecessarily alarmist on the part of the Agency and is likely to causedistresstothebirthparent.Italsosuggeststhattheadopteemaybesomesortofdeviant.Itisobviouslynot the intentionof theBill togive this impressionbut thewording certainlyneedstobeimprovedandabetterexplanationofitofferedintheFAQdocument.72.Contact fromtheAgencymayalsobeseenas intrusiveby thebirthparent.Theymayhaveputtheadoptionbehindthemmanyyearsbefore,andmaynotwelcomenotificationfromtheAgencythatreawakenspainfulmemoriesassociatedwiththetraumaofgivinguptheirchild.Iftheadopteehasalreadysignedawrittenundertakingnottocontactthebirthparents,whydothebirthparentsneedtobeinformedthattheadopteeismerelyseekinginformationabouthis/herbirth?

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73.We are concerned that the written undertaking not to contact the birth parents (ascurrently described in the Bill)may be seen as infantilising and stigmatising of adoptees.Thisechoesthesentimentsexpressed in thereviewbytheAdoptionRightsAlliance.33Wearealsoconcernedthatmanyadopteeswillbeoffendedbythistreatment-itwillalienatethem, and will ultimately discourage them from engaging with the Agency and workingcollaborativelywith it. Instead theymay turn toalternativemethodsof tracing theirbirthfamily (e.g. Private Investigator, DNA testing, etc). Thus a real opportunity to workcollaborativelywiththeAgencywouldbelostandtherewouldbeaconsequent increasedrisk of harm and distress (to the adoptee, the birth parents, or other family members)resultingfromtheadoptee’sunsupportedefforts.74.Inanycase,thewrittenundertakingnottocontactbirthparentsdoesnotappeartobelegallybindingandisthereforeprobablyunenforceable.Inaddition, it isnotmentionedintheoffencesectionoftheBill.Thisraisesthequestionofitsutility.Wenotethataprevioussuggestion to include a “Statutory Declaration” was shelved after the Joint OireachtasCommitteeonHealthandChildren following legal advice could findnoconvincing reasonforitsinclusion.3475.However,weareencouragedtonote that thewrittenundertakingdoesnot precludecontacting siblings or cousins. We welcome this aspect of the Bill because it does notimpede using DNA testing to search for immediate familymembers other than the birthparents(i.e.siblings,cousins,aunts,uncles,etc).Therefore,theadopteeusingDNAtestingto findbirth familywill remainwithin the law (if theBill is passed in its current form). Itwould be important to emphasise this point in any future Government memo or FAQrelating to the Bill so as to reduce the risk of any unnecessary challenges to the right ofadopteestoundertakeDNAtesting.76.Children,grandchildrenandotherdescendantsofanadoptedpersonshouldhaveaccessto records, particularly if the adopted person is deceased. In some circumstances, otherrelativesoftheadoptedperson(e.g.siblings,nephews,nieces)shouldbeallowedtoaccessthe records.TheBill (andanyassociatedmemoorFAQ) shouldbeexplicitabout thisanddefineunderwhatconditionstherecordscanbeaccessed.TheGovernmentshouldlookforexamplesfromtheopenaccesssystemsofothercountries.33AdoptionRightsAllianceBriefingNote,March2016,page14–availableathttp://www.adoptionrightsalliance.com/ARA%20Briefing%20Note%20&%20Amendments%20to%202016%20Adoption%20Bill_17-03-17.pdf34AdoptionRightsAllianceBriefingNote,March2016,page14–availableathttp://www.adoptionrightsalliance.com/ARA%20Briefing%20Note%20&%20Amendments%20to%202016%20Adoption%20Bill_17-03-17.pdf

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9. Recommendations1. IncorporateDNAtestingasaroutinepartofthetracingprocedure.

2. IncludededicatedDNA-trainedstaff(includingprofessionalgeneticgenealogists)aspart

oftheAgencyteamtoassistwithtracingbirthfamily.3. Asamatterofurgency,developtrainingpacksandeducationalmaterialsandcoursesto

assistadopteesusingDNAtotracetheirbirthfamily,and(mostimportantly)howtogoaboutmakingfirstcontactwiththeirimmediatebirthfamily(half-siblings&firstcousins)andbuildinganewrelationshipwiththem.

4. PublishanannualreportofaggregateddatafromRACE&NACPR,aswellasanannual

Agencyreport,inordertoefficientlymonitorprogress.

5. Revisethecurrentproposalstoallowanopenaccesssystemtoadoptionrecords.

We,assignatoriesofthissubmissionandasmembersofthegeneticgenealogycommunityin Ireland,arereadyandwillingtoassisttheMinister inanywaywecantoachievetheserecommendations.

PaddyWaldronMauriceGleesonMartineBrennanGerardCorcoranFinbarOMahonyMargaretJordan

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10. Sources&Links“AdopteeTesting2016”Survey–availableat…https://www.facebook.com/groups/DNADetectives/permalink/1200136676724114/DNADetectivesFacebookgroup–availableat…https://www.facebook.com/groups/DNADetectives/Question&Answers:Adoption(InformationandTracing)Bill2016-availableat…https://www.dcya.gov.ie/documents/publications/20161125AdoptionInfoTracingBillFAQs.pdfExplanatory&FinancialMemorandum:Adoption(InformationandTracing)Bill2016-availableat…https://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/bills/2016/10016/b10016s-memo.pdfAdoption(InformationandTracing)Bill2016-availableat…http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/bills/2016/10016/b10016s.pdfAdoptionRightsAllianceBriefingNote,March2016,page14–availableathttp://www.adoptionrightsalliance.com/ARA%20Briefing%20Note%20&%20Amendments%20to%202016%20Adoption%20Bill_17-03-17.pdf

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Appendix1–“AdopteeTesting2016”SurveyInOctober2016,geneticgenealogistBlaineBettingercreatedasurveyaskingadopteesaseriesofninequestionsrelatingtotheirexperiencewithDNAtesting.Thefullsurveyisavailablehere:https://goo.gl/forms/ggJfMppw9T9xuCYY2Thetablebelowdescribespreliminaryresultsofthesurvey(basedon575respondents)fromOctober2016.Theycanalsobefoundhere…https://www.facebook.com/groups/DNADetectives/permalink/1200136676724114/?match=YWRvcHRlZSB0ZXN0aW5nIDIwMTY%3D

PreliminaryresultsfromJanuary2017(basedon700respondents)arebroadlysimilarand can be found here … http://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2017/01/08/adoptee-testing-a-study/

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PercentageofeachtypeofancestoroftheadopteefoundoninitialDNAtesting

(interimresultsbasedon700respondents)Thefullresults(basedon1200respondents)werepresentedattheAmericanAdoptionCongress on 7th April 2017, and were not substantially different from the interimresults. Extracted data from the final results are presented in point 7 within thedocument.WeareverygratefultoBlaineBettingerforpermissiontousethedatafromhissurvey.

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Appendix2–ProcessforRequestingInformationHere isa summaryof theapparentprocess forgetting information fromtheAgency.ThiswasextractedfromthecurrentwordingoftheproposedBill:ThoseadopteesapplyingforinformationaftertheBillispassed,andwhoare>18yearsold(i.e.fromabout2035onwards)canautomaticallyobtainacopyoftheirBirthCertificateandotherinformationabouttheirbirth(e.g.earlylife,medicalinfo,etc).Theirbirthparentswillbenotifiedof this12weeks inadvanceof the releasedate (if theirnamesappearon theRegister).ForthosewhowereadoptedpriortotheBillbeingmadeLaw,andwhoare>18yearsold(i.e.bornbeforec.1999),thefollowingprocessapplies:

• FirsttheymustsignaWrittenUndertaking(WUT)nottocontacttheirbirthparents(WUTnotnecessaryiftheparentinquestioniswillingtohavecontact,orisseekingcontact,orhasdied)–seesection41

o Iftheydonot,noinformationwillbereleasedo The implication (which is not clearly stated) is that theAgencywill assume

responsibilityforanytracing&contactingofthebirthparent• Next,TUSLA(theAgency)willseeifthereisanentry(withcontactdetails)foreither

parentonthenewRegister(RACE)35o If there is an entry, then that parent is contacted and notified that their

natural child is seeking information about their birth. They will be givenadviceandsupport.Theywillalsobeaskedifthiswillendangeranyone’slifeandbetoldthattheyhave12weekstoblockthereleaseoftheinformation.

§ If theparenthas“nocompelling reason” toblock thereleaseof theinformation,itwillbereleased:

• If the birth mother has been contacted, the informationreleased is not a copy of the birth certificate but rather hernameandotherdetailstypicallyfoundonabirthcertEXCEPTthefather’sname-seesection23-1-gandpage7oftheFAQ36

• If it is the birth father that has been contacted, theinformation released is his name – see 23-1-h … BUTapparently he cannot consent to any other birth certinformationbeingreleased

35RACE,RegisterofAdoptionContactEnquiries…whichisapartialduplicationofthecurrentlyexistingNACPR,NationalAdoptionContactPreferenceRegister36https://www.dcya.gov.ie/documents/publications/20161125AdoptionInfoTracingBillFAQs.pdf

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• It appears that a copy of an Adoption Order can only bereleased once the birth mother has been contacted. Birthfathers have no say in this. However, this is not clearlydelineatedintheproposedBill.See23-1-i

• It is not terribly clear how the Bill proposes to manage therelease of non-identifying “other” information, relating toearlylife,medicalinformation,etc…items23-1athrough23-1-e. Is it subject to the same process? Can either parentconsenttoitsrelease?Orcanitbereleasedwithouttheneedtocontacteitherbirthparent?Apparentlythelatterapplies.

§ Ifeitherparentfeelssomeone’slifewouldbeindangerasaresultofthe release of either parent’s nameor other birth cert information,thenthereleasecanbeblockedandthecasecangotocourt

o IfthereisnoentryfortheparentonthenewRegister,then…§ If thebirth fatherwaspreviously consulted about the adoption (i.e.

18+yearsago),thenhisnamecanbereleased§ If he was not consulted about the adoption, then he becomes the

subject of a tracing search so that he can be located, contacted, &askedifanyone’slifewillbeputindangerbyreleasinghisname

§ If there is no entry for the birth mother, then … it looks like theinformation (i.e. birth certificate information and or a copy of anAdoptionOrder)canbereleasedWITHOUTtheneedtolocateherandcontacther.

For thosewhowereadoptedprior to theBill beingmade Law,andwhoare less than18yearsold(i.e.bornbeforec.1999),thefollowingprocessapplies:

• Theadoptiveparentmayapplyfornon-identifyinginformationo Itseemsthiswillbereleasedwithouttheneedtocontactthebirthparents

• Theadoptiveparentmayapply foracopyof theAdoptionOrderand/oracopyoftheBirthCertificate

o Note27oftheFAQstatesthatthiswillonlybereleasedifthe“birthparentagreesorwherethebirthparentisdeceased”.Itisnotcleariftheconsent(ordeath)ofoneorbothbirthparentsisrequired,orifonlyoneofthemneedstogiveconsent/havediedforthecerttobereleased37

o Notethattheoptiontoobtaintheadoptee’sBirthCertificateexpiresassoonasheturns18.Thereafter,boththebirthfatherandbirthmotherwouldhaveto be contacted to release a) the father’s name, and b) all other birthcertificate information, respectively. The Birth Certificate would not bereleasedtotheadopteeaged18+.

37https://www.dcya.gov.ie/documents/publications/20161125AdoptionInfoTracingBillFAQs.pdf

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Appendix3–biographicalinformationonauthorsThe authors of this submission are all members of ISOGG, the International Society ofGeneticGenealogy,buttheviewsexpressedinthisdocumentaretheirownpersonalviewsandarenotnecessarilysharedbyISOGG.ISOGGwas founded in2005byDNAprojectadministratorswhosharedacommonvision:thepromotionandeducationofgeneticgenealogy.ISOGGisaglobalvolunteerorganisationwith over 12,000 members in 80 countries. Our mission is to advocate for and educateabouttheuseofgeneticsasatoolforgenealogicalresearch,andtopromoteasupportivenetwork for genetic genealogists. ISOGG Ireland represents the global Irish diaspora ingenetic genealogy and administers surname and regional DNA projects and organizesconferences and lectures. We organize an annual DNA conference (Genetic GenealogyIreland)attheBacktoOurPastconferenceintheRDSandhavepublishedover50lecturestoourdedicatedYouTubechannel.MauriceGleesonMaurice Gleeson is a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical physician as well as a geneticgenealogist. He is administrator of several SurnameDNA Projects, including theGleason,Spearin,Farrell,Boylan,&MaloneyProjects.Healsoworkswithadopteesandwithpeopleof unknown parentage and has appeared on Irish TV as a consultant for the TV seriesAdoption Stories. He authors several blogs (e.g. DNA and Family Tree Research) and is aregularcontributortogenealogicalmagazines.HisYouTubevideosongeneticgenealogyareverypopular.HehasorganisedtheDNALecturesfor"GeneticGenealogyIreland"inDublinand"WhoDoYouThinkYouAre"intheUKsince2012,aswellasgiventalksalloverIreland,the UK, and internationally. He was voted "Genetic Genealogist of the Year 2015”(SurnameDNAJournal)and“SuperstarGenealogist,Ireland”in2016(Canada’sAnglo-CelticConnections).Theviewsexpressedherearehisown.PaddyWaldronPaddyWaldronhasdegreesinmathematicalsciences,economicsandfinance,butinrecentyearshas concentratedon localhistory, genealogyandparticularly genetic genealogy.Hehaslecturedwidelyonallofthesesubjects.HeisaVisitingResearchFellowinEconomicsatTrinity CollegeDublin.He is co-administrator of severalDNAProjects, including the ClareRoots Project and the Clancy, Durkan, O’Dea&Waldron Surname Projects. He has beeninvolvedinanumberofadoptioncaseswhichweresolvedusingDNA.HehasservedonthecommitteesoftheClareRootsSociety,Kilrush&DistrictHistoricalSociety,Councilof Irish

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Genealogical Organisations and various similar bodies. The views expressed here are hisownandnotthoseofanyofthesebodies.MartineBrennanMartineBrennanBA,Dip.Counselling,Dip.Psychotherapy,GenealogyResearcher,MemberoftheGuildofOneNameStudies(Brennan),FounderofTheKerryDNAProject(Facebook)Contributor to Radio Kerry, TV & Radio Documentaries, The Upper North Street SchoolProject, Poplar, London, The Slave Name Roll Project, The Beyond Kin Project, IrelandReachingOutwww.martinebrennan.comGerardCorcoranGerardCorcoranisDirectorofSmartCitiesforHuaweiTechnologiesinWesternEuropeandisvolunteercoordinatoroftheInternationalSocietyofGeneticGenealogyinIreland.Intheformer role he is on the advisory Network of Smart City Dublin, Sandyford, and DunLaoghaire.Inthelatterroleheisco-administratoroftheIrelandDNAOutreachprojectandtheIrishMidlandsDNAProjectandorganiseroftheannualISOGGdayoutforspeakersandvolunteersofGeneticGenealogyIreland.In2008,hesubmittedareporttotheDepartmentof Foreign Affairs on the Ireland US Strategic Review advocating for the use of GeneticGenealogy as a tool to connect the Irish Diaspora and the establishment of a DiasporaCentre in Ireland. In 2014 he made a submission titled “Capture the Full Value of ourGenealogicalHeritage”totheOireachtasJointCommitteeonEnvironment,CultureandtheGaeltacht. In 2016 he supported the Genetic Genealogy component of the new IrishDiaspora Museum, Epic Ireland and in the same year supported the landmark TVdocumentaryontheDNAoftheIrishTravellers.HeisamemberoftheGenealogicalSocietyof IrelandwithresponsibilityforcontactswiththeGeneticGenealogyCommunityandhaslecturedfrequentlyonGeneticGenealogyinIreland.Theviewsexpressedherearehisown.FinbarOMahoneyFinbarOMahony,BA,Dip.Psych,MBA,DBA(F.Psych.Soc.Irl.,FIPD,FIITDnowretired)RetiredlecturerinStrategicManagementandBusinessPolicyandlecturerinHumanResourceManagementandalsoinOrganizationalDevelopment,DITFormerBoardmemberoftheClansofIrelandProjectadministratoroftheOMahony,HartnettandMoriartyyDNAprojects,CouncilMemberoftheOMahonySocietyFormerDirectorofabranchoftheSamaritansLecturerintheuseofGeneticTestingforyDNAsurnameprojectsMemberISOGG

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MargaretJordanMargaretJordanwasasecondlevelteacherofPhysicsandMathematicsforover25years.ShehassuccessfullyusedDNAtestingto identifyherfather’sbirthfather.Shehasbeenaprofessional genealogist for over nine years and is a member of AGI (AccreditedGenealogistsIreland)andAPG(AssociationofProfessionalGenealogists).SheisaFellowoftheCorkGenealogical Society. She is also amemberof ISOGG. She specializes inGeneticGenealogy and uses it to help adoptees to find their birth family. She is a voluntaryadministratorofseveralDNAProjects,mostnotablytheIrelandyDNAProject(whichsheco-founded in 2006), which (June 2017) has over 7,600membersworldwide. She has giventalksonDNAandhaswrittenpublishedarticlesonthetopic.Theviewsexpressedhereareherownandnotthoseofanyofthebodiesmentioned.