Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

I welcome the Bill broadly. Its provisions will significantly extend the duration of adoptive leave by two weeks to a total of six weeks' statutory adoptive leave entitlement attracting payment. Such leave will allow an adoptive mother and child to bond at a vital time in the latter's young life just as a natural mother bonds with her child during his or her early days.

Psychologists contend that the baby-mother bond is a key one which has important indicators for future life. As the components for the development of a happy, healthy, independent adult are formed at an early stage, it is important that adoptive mothers be given the same opportunity to bond as a natural mother. According to psychologists, better bonding leads to more natural mothering, which is what the process under discussion is about. Experts and casual travellers alike have remarked that in more primitive cultures one never sees babies crying. A peace corps worker who was in Africa in the 1960s recalled that in a marketplace not one of the 50 babies present and tied to his or her mother's back with a knotted shawl was crying. We have a great deal to learn from such cultures about the mother-child bond. Paediatricians and psychologists agree that where children enjoy a close, interactive relationship with their parents over an extended period, they appear to be more balanced and satisfied generally.

The forerunner of this Bill was the report of the working group on the review and improvement of maternity protection legislation. It was a landmark report as far as adoptive parents were concerned. The improvements in adoptive leave provisions are being synchronised with the maternity leave provisions contained in the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004, which is only right. The Adoptive Leave Bill should mirror the 2004 Act as adoptive mothers and their children find themselves in similar circumstances to their counterparts. The same demands are placed on them and children have the same needs in terms of feeding and waking times. A child has a package of needs whether he or she is the child of an adoptive or a natural mother and we should strive to ensure equality in the legislation.

In times past, grandparents were available to educate young mothers in the care of children. That luxury no longer exists as grandparents are now likely to be much younger and in the workforce. It should be recognised in legislation that young mothers must learn the necessary skills on their own. The decision to implement in full the working group's recommendations heralded a new deal for adoptive parents. It is not that long ago since the rights of adoptive parents to any leave was a mere pipe dream. The injustice of the situation was quickly corrected following completion of the working group's deliberations.

Prior to 1995 an anomaly existed whereby adoptive mothers were denied the same leave entitlements as in maternity cases. The 1995 Act was the first real step to correct that anomaly. The correction of the anomaly in the treatment of natural and adoptive parents is a matter of simple justice and is to be commended. The adoption process involves a considerable amount of emotional stress, with adoptive parents being in a vulnerable state at a difficult time. Adoptive parents suffer the same stresses as natural parents in terms of worrying whether they will cope and how the new baby will take to them.

Parents planning to adopt require counselling and support as many who choose to adopt do so from different standpoints and at different times. There are many issues involved in the process which is often viewed by parents as a nightmare in terms of the hurdles put in their way, such as interviews to determine suitability and so on. The many issues they have to address cause a great deal of stress, but they have to deal with the situation.

The Bill provides support for the stability of many Irish families. It further facilitates the adoption process by entitling parents to increased paid leave in connection with the adoption procedure. The Bill also facilitates a much greater retention of women in the workplace and contributes to a greater gender balance there as well as making a positive contribution to improvements in their quality of life.

Parents proposing to adopt from foreign countries require time off work to visit the country concerned and that raises issues such as security of employment. We must safeguard the employment of those who go the extra mile to ensure they can start a family. Parents may be required to spend protracted periods abroad meeting families and negotiating with foreign Government officials for two to three months before returning to Ireland with a child. The adoptive parents are also totally immersed in the customs and cultures of the country of the child's birth. The provision entitling adoptive parents to attend reparation classes and pre-adoption meetings with social workers and health board personnel without loss of pay is to be welcomed. While a natural mother requires a considerable amount of time off work to attend clinics, adoptive parents often need greater time off given their requirement to meet health board officials while going through the screening process.

Lack of child care programmes remains a serious problem. The Minister for Finance may be in a position when delivering the forthcoming budget to loosen the purse strings and introduce a child care payment or income tax relief for child care. Adoptive parents may be expected to pay for expensive crèche or child care facilities for the newly adopted child and, in many cases, this provides a disincentive for one partner to remain in the workplace. Child care tax allowances such as those provided in the United States or a special child care payment would enable parents to remain in the workplace.

The Bill represents a significant advance in providing for labour rights for prospective adoptive parents but we continue to play catch-up in comparison with some of our EU and non-EU counterparts. The legislation goes a considerable distance towards reconciling the imbalance which existed not merely between adoptive and natural parents but between adoptive mothers and fathers in terms of less equal or discriminatory treatment in the manner of the adoption.

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