Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 14/2022
• Year: 2022

• Full Act
• Act by Section
• Act As Enacted
• Amendments
• PDF annotated
• PDF unannotated

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Number 14 of 2022

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BIRTH INFORMATION AND TRACING ACT 2022

REVISED

Updated to 20 July 2023

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This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.

All Acts up to and including the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2023 (25/2023), enacted 20 July 2023, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Merchant Shipping (Fire Protection) (No. 2) Rules 2023 (S.I. No. 380 of 2023), made 20 July 2023, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.

Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to

revisedacts@lawreform.ie.

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Number 14 of 2022

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BIRTH INFORMATION AND TRACING ACT 2022

REVISED

Updated to 20 July 2023

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Introduction

This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was passed.

Related legislation

This Act is not collectively cited with any other Act.

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.

An explanation of how to read annotations is available at

www.lawreform.ie/annotations.

Material not updated in this revision

Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.

Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.

A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1972, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at

www.irishstatutebook.ie.

Acts which affect or previously affected this revision

• Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 (8/2023)

All Acts up to and including Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2023 (25/2023), enacted 20 July 2023, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

• Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 (Part 9) (Commencement) Order 2022 (S.I. No. 496 of 2022)

• Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 (Commencement) (No. 2) Order 2022 (S.I. No. 448 of 2022)

• Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 (Commencement) Order 2022 (S.I. No. 321 of 2022)

All statutory instruments up to and including Merchant Shipping (Fire Protection) (No. 2) Rules 2023 (S.I. No. 380 of 2023), made 20 July 2023, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

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Number 14 of 2022

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BIRTH INFORMATION AND TRACING ACT 2022

REVISED

Updated to 20 July 2023

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Acts Referred to

Adoption Act 1952 (No. 25)

Adoption Act 2010 (No. 21)

Child Care Act 1991 (No. 17)

Children Act 1908 (8 Edw. 7, c. 67)

Civil Registration Act 2004 (No. 3)

Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and Certain Related Matters) Records, and Another Matter, Act 2020 (No. 20)

Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 (No. 23)

Companies Act 2014 (No. 38)

Data Protection Act 2018 (No. 7)

Health Act 1970 (No. 1)

Local Government Act 2001 (No. 37)

Medical Practitioners Act 2007 (No. 25)

National Archives Act 1986 (No. 11)

Succession Act 1965 (No. 27)

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Number 14 of 2022

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BIRTH INFORMATION AND TRACING ACT 2022

REVISED

Updated to 20 July 2023

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An Act to make further and better provision in respect of access by certain persons to information concerning their origins and, for that purpose, to provide for the access by adopted persons and persons who have been the subject of incorrect birth registrations or certain care arrangements to their birth certificates and other information and items relating to them; to provide, where such persons are deceased, for the access in certain circumstances by their children or other next of kin to such information or items; to provide for the making available, by the Adoption Authority of Ireland and the Child and Family Agency, of a service for the tracing of certain persons; to provide for the establishment and maintenance of a register to be known as the Contact Preference Register; to provide for the safeguarding and transfer to the Adoption Authority of Ireland of certain records relating to the birth, adoption and care of certain persons; to amend the Succession Act 1965 to make provision in respect of persons who have been the subject of incorrect birth registrations; to amend the Civil Registration Act 2004 to make additional provision in respect of persons who are the subject of incorrect birth registrations; to amend the National Archives Act 1986; to amend the Adoption Act 2010; and to provide for related matters.

[30th June, 2022]

Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:

PART 1

Preliminary and General

1

Short title and commencement

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), this Act, other than Parts 8 and 9, shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

(3) Part 2 shall come into operation on such day or days, not earlier than 3 months after the date on which Part 6 comes into operation, as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

(4) Part 9 shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Social Protection may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

Annotations:

Editorial Notes:

E1

A table showing commencement dates ordered by section is available at https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/isbc/2022_14.html.

E2

Power pursuant to subs. (4) exercised (3.10.2022) by Birth Information And Tracing Act 2022 (Part 9) (Commencement) Order 2022 (S.I. No. 496 of 2022).

2. The 3rd day of October 2022 is appointed as the day on which Part 9 of the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 (No. 14 of 2022) shall come into operation.

E3

Power pursuant to subss. (2), (3) exercised (3.10.2022) by Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 (Commencement) (No. 2) Order 2022 (S.I. No. 448 of 2022).

2. The 3rd day of October 2022 is appointed as the day on which the following provisions of the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 shall come into operation:

(a) section 5;

(b) Parts 2, 3 and 4;

(c) sections 32, 35, 36 and 37;

(d) Part 7;

(e) section 64 and 70;

(f) Part 11.

E4

Power pursuant to subs. (2) exercised (1.07.2022) by Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 (Commencement) Order 2022 (S.I. No. 321 of 2022).

2. The 1st day of July 2022 is appointed as the day on which the following provisions of the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 shall come into operation:

(a) Part 1, other than section 5;

(b) section 33;

(c) section 34;

(d) Part 6;

(e) Part 10, other than sections 64 and 70.

2

Interpretation

2. (1) In this Act—

“Act of 2004” means the Civil Registration Act 2004;

“Act of 2010” means the Adoption Act 2010;

“accredited body” has the meaning it has in section 3 of the Act of 2010;

“adopted child” means an adopted person who has not attained the age of 18 years;

“adopted person” means a person—

(a) adopted under an adoption order,

(b) born in the State and—

(i) placed for adoption outside the State by An Bord Uchtála, a person who was at the time a registered adoption society, the Authority or the Agency, or

(ii) removed from the State by any other person for the purpose of the effecting of his or her adoption outside the State,

and whose adoption was effected outside the State,

(c) adopted, in accordance with the law in force in the place at the time of the adoption, in a place outside the State, where the particulars of his or her adoption are entered in the register of intercountry adoptions, or

(d) otherwise adopted in accordance with the law in force in the State at the time of the adoption;

“adoption order” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2010;

“adoptive parent” means, in relation to an adopted person, a person who has adopted him or her, and “adoptive father” and “adoptive mother” shall be construed accordingly;

“Agency” means the Child and Family Agency;

“AIRR Archive” means the database of historical child care records compiled by the Department of Health under the Access to Institutional and Related Records Project;

“authorised officer” means an authorised officer appointed under section 51;

“Authority” means the Adoption Authority of Ireland;

“birth certificate” means a document issued under section 13(4) of the...