I am sure we all agree that last night's "RTÉ Investigates" programme on the impact of illegal adoptions was really shocking. The requirement for legislation on adoptive information and tracing is being brought forward by Senator Bacik in the Seanad tomorrow, a person who the Tánaiste acknowledged previously as a very good legislator. What are we going to do to ensure that those who were illegally adopted have legal certainty?

My former colleague, Joan Burton, published draft legislation in 2019, with Ms Anne O'Meara, who was impacted by illegal adoption. The Bill would allow people to go to the Circuit Court to get a declaration of adoption where there is not clear documentary evidence that their birth certificate would be admissible. There would be admissibility and they would have a court decision. What is the Government going to do to provide those who were illegally adopted with legal certainty into the future?

I watched the "RTÉ Investigates" programme last night. It was really well produced and well researched, and I want to extend my compliments to those involved in putting it together. I also pay tribute to the people who told their stories. It cannot have been easy. It is hard to imagine a social worker coming to one's door to break the news that one's parents are not one's biological parents, one's name is not the name one was born with and one's birth date is not one's birth date. We must do everything we can to assist these people and help to make up for some of the wrongs of the past. That means giving them access to records about them and to their birth certificates. It also entails regularising their status, their names, inheritance tax and all those issues. The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, and the Government are committed to doing exactly that.

I have very strong feelings about GDPR. When I supported GDPR, I supported it on the basis that it would give people access to their personal information, ensure their personal information would be protected and ensure information could be corrected if it was wrong. It was never intended that the GDPR would be used to stop people from getting access to their personal information. That is what is currently happening and it is incumbent on us, as a Government, and on the Oireachtas, to change the law in that regard.