Major adoption scandal reveals that nearly 80 Irish people may not know they’re adopted

"This is an extremely sensitive issue and one which we acknowledge may cause upset and anxiety for those affected."

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone, has announced findings of 126 adoption cases run by St. Patrick's Guild in Mount Merrion, Dublin, in which biological details were deliberately incorrectly registered. The cases in question relate to adoptions that occurred in Ireland between 1946 and 1969, where the adoptive parents of the child were recorded as the birth parents. It is believed that as many as 79 people may have no idea that they were adopted. The registrations mean that some people placed by St. Patrick's Guild had false information registered on their birth certificates. The names of those they were placed alongside were incorrectly recorded as their birth parents. On Tuesday afternoon, an apologetic Minister Zappone addressed the media with the findings. "I'm truly sorry," she said. Child and Family Agency Tusla is responsible for holding historical adoption records, using them to assist those in tracing their birth relatives. An official statement from Tusla followed on their website. The statement reads:

"Tusla – Child and Family Agency has identified at least 126 instances of incorrect registrations of birth in the records of St Patrick’s Guild.  Tusla holds historical adoption records and uses them to help people trace birth relatives. In May 2016, Tusla received 13,500 records from St Patrick’s Guild. "The registrations in question relate to births between 1946 and 1969 and were discovered as a result of Tusla proactively undertaking significant work to scan St Patrick’s Guild records and identify instances of incorrect registrations.  A further 16 cases from the same time period are being examined to establish if they are also incorrect registrations. "While the 126 cases have been identified, significant work remains to identify, locate and inform those affected. Tusla has been tasked by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone, with identifying, locating and contacting those affected, as a matter of urgency. Tusla has created a dedicated team of experienced practitioners to carry out this work. "At this point in time, we cannot say with certainty how long this process will take. Tracing people is often slow, labour-intensive work, but we have created an experienced social work team dedicated to tracing these people in the hope that the work will be completed as quickly as possible. "It is likely that this work will impact on our general information and tracing services and on the waiting time for people who have applied for a tracing service. We apologise for this inconvenience and to minimise this impact we have begun recruitment to fill the posts made vacant by the creation of the specialist team. "We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that the incorrect registrations were identified in the records of St Patrick’s Guild only and relate to the births of 126 people between 1946 and 1969. "This is an extremely sensitive issue and one which we acknowledge may cause upset and anxiety for those affected, as well as adopted people, adoptive parents and birth parents across the country. Tusla will ensure that those affected will be treated with dignity, respect, sensitivity and a true sense of compassion. "Tusla will also make sure that the people who are subject to the incorrect registrations are given the autonomy and self-determination to make the decision they wish to about their life."

A helpline has been set up for anyone who has concerns about their adoption. The helpline number is 1890 100 054 and is open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday. Main image via YouTube/Katherine Zappone