The Chairman of the Adoption Authority of Ireland has called for those seeking their birth records to be given full legal protection to do so.
Dr Geoffrey Shannon was speaking ahead of a conference taking place today which will see experts from the UK and Canada explain how those countries have opened their records, while also protecting the right to privacy.
The Adoption Authority wants to see the Government push ahead with legislation to give those seeking their records a statutory footing.
Dr Geoffrey Shannon says access to birth records is a human right, and must be guaranteed:
The Adoption Authority has been keeping a voluntary adoption contact register since 2005, which is said to have resulted in 725 matches and more than 11,000 people registered.
The organisation says "since the release of the Philomena film and the recent mother and baby home media coverage, registrations to the contact preference adoption register have increased by 100% in the last three months".
