Adoptee Rights and Access to Records in Northern Ireland (Part II)

Dr Alice Diver hosts a follow‑up LawPod conversation with Sharon, Maeve, and Brigid from Adopt NI, continuing the discussion on adoptee rights, truth recovery, and Northern Ireland’s forthcoming redress legislation. Building on Episode 1, the guests analyse how the draft bill fails to reflect the human rights framework promised in earlier reports and how lived experience has been overlooked in policymaking.

They describe the gap between the Truth Recovery Report’s human‑rights‑based recommendations and the bill now emerging: the exclusion of workhouse survivors; the omission of practices such as coercion, systemic separation of mothers and babies, and cross‑border adoption pathways; and the absence of a statutory right to personal records. Participants recount their frustration at being positioned as consultees only in appearance, with little genuine influence, and their exhaustion at repeatedly providing testimony that appears unread or unacted upon.

The conversation highlights the lifelong impacts of forced separation, trauma, loss of identity, intergenerational effects, and the emotional labour required to obtain fragmented or redacted records. They stress the need for a victims’ commissioner, mandatory access to archives, accountability for institutions (including state, church, and medical actors), and investment in research, education, and non‑repetition measures. Despite the barriers, the group emphasises the strength of peer support through Adopt NI and the ongoing commitment to advocacy and truth-telling.