Ms Susan Lohan:

I have three questions to answer for Deputy Troy. He asked whether it would not be better for a child to move to a loving home rather than remain in an institution. This calls for a domestic solution. We must always remember that the Hague Convention is a last resort. All domestic solutions, including adoption into the child's wider family, the community or elsewhere in the country of origin, should be considered before a child is put forward for inter-country adoption. There is a heap of evidence that many families from the sending countries who place their children in such institutions do so after being given false assurances. Ireland also has a history of this. In Romania, many families placed their children in orphanages on a short-term basis during the winter when food was scarce and they could not heat their houses. They were tricked into doing so. In Ethiopia, many of the families were illiterate. They did not give their informed consent to put their children up for adoption. They believed they were looking at temporary guardianship orders. We must be mindful of this.
Deputy Troy also asked about our views on the constitutional issues under the information and tracing Bill. I am glad that the committee will revisit the matter, as it warrants a separate discussion. We do not accept that the constitutional issues are insurmountable. Our opinion has been supported by a number of academic commentators, including Dr. Conor O'Mahony of UCC. Yesterday, I suggested to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Charles Flanagan, that he should create an expert group to examine these constitutional issues with a view to reinterpreting the 1998 IO'T v. B and the Rotunda Girls' Aid Society case in the Supreme Court.
We complained about the Sacred Heart agency, as did the Adopted People's Association previously. We were inundated with complaints about the Sacred Heart Adoption Society, particularly as regards a Sister Sarto, the agency's director. Quite unbelievably-----