In the interests of fairness, I have a note of those Deputies who raised questions on Tuesday and Wednesday. I will first call on those Deputies who did not speak on those days, the first of whom is Deputy Burton.

I raise the announcement yesterday by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone, that she will shelve the section of the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill, which is currently before the Seanad, on the right of adopted people to access their files and information relating to the circumstances of their birth and adoption. The Minister is failing to provide a basic human right, namely, that to access one's personal information, which is set out in human rights declarations and has been available in most common law countries for more than 50 years.

Was this a general Government decision or a personal initiative of the Minister? A great deal of progressive legislation has been worked out among all the parties in the Chamber. We have agreed on divorce, marriage equality, abortion and transgender rights, but adopted people and their birth mothers will all be dead by the time the Government takes any action for them.

I will ask the Minister to revert directly to the Deputy, who I know takes an interest in the area. My understanding is that the Minister has legal advice that suggests some protection for birth parents and the constitutional right to privacy must be reflected in the legislation, which she is trying to balance with the rights of adopted people to accessing information-----

Adopted people have rights, not a balance.

They do have rights, which is what the Minister is trying to legislate for-----

She has thrown out the legislation.

-----to ensure we maximise the application of those rights. She has not thrown out the legislation.