Ms Paula Fagan:

Another point to make around the urgency of this legislation is that the Adoption Authority of Ireland is not processing second parent adoption where there is any donor assisted element to it. It is waiting for this legislation to come into effect, so that option is not currently available to people. As Ms Bracken outlined, we do not consider it appropriate, particularly from a child's point of view. Children understand adoption. They know people in their classrooms at school who are adopted or others in their families. They understand on an emotional level what that means. It is a very different situation where the parents intended to have the child and have always been there for them.