Mr. Kiernan Gildea:

We have never referred to those adoptions in the way the Senator has. We stand over any of the adoptions in the register. The problem is that the two major countries of origin are not Hague-compliant and there are challenges with regard to getting bilateral agreements with them. In 2013, the number of adoptions entered into was 72, of which 44 were in respect of non-Hague countries - Russia, Ethiopia and Taiwan - and 28 were in respect of Hague countries.