Demand change: Send an email to your TD now

Dear Supporter,

As you are no doubt already aware, we have been actively campaigning for open access for Adoptees and Rights to our own information.

Minister Zappone has sought our input as regards the way forward for the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016. We have been given four pathways. These are not pathways but cul de sacs.

We cannot agree to any option that does not deal with the substantive issues such as access to Health information, to do so would sell our community short.

We have no guarantee if Minister Zappone gets agreement on this box ticking exercise that the ‘box’ will be opened again. It puts us back at the start to get the issue reopened with no guarantee that it will be.

We are advocates, not politicians, and as such we need to act in the best interests of our community and the best interests of our community is not to agree to a limited choice of options that we have had no input or say in but which will affect our community directly. To do so is to agree to have it continue as it is, apart from formalising of records, with no substantive change and no end in sight..

We also cannot control or dictate how it proceeds or cherry pick amendments that will be agreed, a lot of Adoptees found amendments tabled last time to be utterly ridiculous and completely out of touch with what adoptees need.

We have waited too long for equality and we will not break faith with our community, over 6,500 thousand people who have already signed our petition and the 14 councils who have supported us.

The Minister has stated that the Attorney General has moved as far as he can within the confines of the current law, so we need to convince the Minister to move as far as necessary to give us equality.

We deserve better than this, we need to hold this government to account.

Please send an email to your local TD and Senator here - use the template letter provided and include your own experiences.

Thank you

Maree & the Aitheantas team

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