Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for their presentations. Like Senator Seery Kearney, I acknowledge the role of the Department of Foreign Affairs, in particular, over recent weeks. It has been very difficult. I acknowledge also Senator Seery Kearney, given that some of us who were navigating this issue for the first time were on the phone just as often to her. She was always available. We are dealing with families in very difficult circumstances and so much care and sensitivity has always been given.

My first question follows on from what Dr. Redmond said regarding there being a set of guidelines, not least in the context of the pre-birth, post-birth or at-birth transfer of parentage. I am focusing quite a bit on that because I think it will form the crux of the wider issue to a certain extent. Would a pre-birth parentage model make circumstances easier? Of course, nobody could have envisaged what was going to happen in Ukraine, but would such a model have made some of those situations easier or more straightforward, or would it not really change anything? Would the Department of Justice's goal remain the same?

When representatives of the Department of Justice last appeared before the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, we asked about potential models people have seen internationally that might be considered good practice. I do not know whether our guests have looked at any other models since the previous occasion, or perhaps they heard some of what was said about the Canadian model in the earlier session.

The Department of Foreign Affairs deals with many countries. Are there other systems or examples that work well?