Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I, too, want the very best for children. How many children have been adopted through the Hague Convention in 2013? I understand that 266 people were granted declarations of eligibility and suitability this year. I have been contacted by a number of prospective parents regarding the prohibitive cost of getting such declarations. I ask the witnesses to comment on that issue. What is the cost to the State of the several cases that are currently before the High Court? Can parents be helped so that they do not have to go through the High Court? I have been contacted by very distressed parents. Are the staff of the Adoption Authority trained to deal with distressed parents?

I have been a school principal and I taught many children who were adopted from Russia, Vietnam and other countries. I take exception to the comments by Ms Lohan and Ms Corbett - perhaps I picked them up wrongly - when they cautioned against bilateral agreements with other countries.

Ms Lohan mentioned corrupt countries. In the same line we talk about adopting children from Russia and Vietnam, which has worked out well for those children. I take exception to use of the phrase "corrupt adoptions" and its implication for parents who have adopted beautiful children from these countries and reared them in beautiful families.

I have been contacted by many parents, particularly women, who genuinely want to raise children in good family homes. Then I turn on the television at night and see children in other countries in distress, suffering poverty and hunger. I find it difficult to understand that we are saying there are no children available from other countries. The number of intercountry adoptions this year will be startling. I agree with bilateral agreements.