More than 16,634 adopted people, birth parents, and other relatives have now registered with the Adoption Authority of Ireland to state their preferences about making contact with birth relatives.

Latest figures show that 2,174 people have joined the new Contact Preference Register (CPR), which was set up in July as part of the enactment of the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022.

The CPR replaces the old National Adoption Contact Preference Register (NACPR), on which 14,460 people were registered.

The Birth Information and Tracing Act provides legal entitlement, where available, to full and unrestricted access to birth certificates, birth, early life, care, and medical information for any person who was adopted, boarded out, had their birth illegally registered, or who otherwise has questions in relation to their origins. The new law also creates a statutory tracing service for those affected by adoption who are seeking to make contact with birth relatives.