Ms Trish Connolly:

I thank the committee for having us and for all the relevant questions. We believe bilateral agreements should be allowed. The Hague Convention makes provision for such agreements. At the AAI conference on 14 April, the then Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Fitzgerald said: "The countries that have most children for adoption are countries where bilaterals should be entered into, where they have the least organised central authorities and infrastructures." However, many of those countries are operating with the principles of the Hague Convention and against certain standards. Many of our European partners have bilaterals in place and they successfully effect transparent, ethical and not hugely costly and expensive adoptions.

Fees have been mentioned. For example, an adoption from Ethiopia will be effected for a couple of hundred euro or US dollars. One pays one's own court fees and does not require facilitators. I refer to other countries where we have had agencies approved. Prior to 2010, when Ireland implemented the Hague Convention, we had a bilateral agreement with Vietnam. The fees were on record and they were approximately $9,000 at the time. We had a working executive agreement with China prior to bilateral agreements and the adoption of the convention. The fee was $3,500. This was on the record, transparent and ethical for children who were legally available for adoption.

When we talk about these allegedly illegal adoptions, we do not know if the children were trafficked or were orphans legally available for adoption. Are we questioning all the children in my home, Ms Lennon's home and in homes that members know all around Ireland? The then Adoption Board stood over our adoptions and said they were legally recognised. We have children since the 1991 Act and they are now hitting 20 years of age. I have a nine year old at home. She can read the newspaper and watch "Prime Time," and she hears it on the road when we are going to school. She asks, "Mummy, was I stolen? Mummy, how much did you pay for me?".