Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

The Irish-Vietnamese adoption agreement raises many issues which must be dealt with. It affects a small group of people but has a major impact on their lives. Effectively, there are two groups of people concerned about the recent media revelations, namely, those who have successfully completed their Vietnamese adoption, who are concerned about the validity of that adoption, and those prospective parents who have made initial payments but who do not know the status of their applications at this time. The difficulty is that there has been no communication with these people from the Irish Adoption Board, which is entirely unacceptable. These people are distraught and it is a horrible situation for them.

The difficulties first surfaced when the Adoption Board was tipped off that the chief liaison officer, a Vietnamese lawyer who had worked in the USA, was working for the adoption mediation board with regard to the Irish-Vietnamese adoptions. It transpires that the person concerned has a criminal record. She was convicted in the United States of a conspiracy to defraud, obstruction of justice and witness intimidation, and sentenced to three years in jail, with three years supervised release following that jail term. Therefore, the person to whom we have entrusted the sensitive position of liaison officer for Irish-Vietnamese adoptions, and into whose personal bank account drafts and dollar cheques would have to be paid, has a clear criminal record. The final payments arising from adoption agreements were to be paid directly to her in $50 and $100 notes. Dealing in cash sums to an individual is unusual practice.

The only action proposed in this matter is to ask the Irish Adoption Board to carry out its own investigation. This is unacceptable and I call for an independent investigation into how this was allowed to happen and, specifically, into the adoptions in which the lawyer or mediation person in question was involved. Having the Irish Adoption Board investigate itself creates a major conflict of interest and is unacceptable. As the board is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act or the Ombudsman Act, it is effectively a closed shop carrying out an internal investigation. As a result, we may never know what took place.

While I respect the fact that adoption, by its nature, is confidential, in policy terms it is in the public interest that we should be in a position to ask questions about and find out how the Irish Adoption Board operates. What procedures were followed in appointing the individual concerned? I have been informed in a written answer that the Adoption Board has asked the Garda to check the veracity of the allegations. One would expect this to take one or perhaps two weeks to complete. One simple telephone call to the court records department in the state of Virginia in the United States would ascertain the position because these matters are on record.

As well as calling for an independent investigation, I ask that contact be made with those who have adopted a child in Vietnam. I met a young couple who were in tears because they had read newspapers reports on this matter and no one had communicated with them or reassured them. Many other couples who have adopted children do not know if the adoption is valid. I ask that direct contact be made with all the individuals concerned.

The bodies involved in this matter have received Government funding. People try to adopt legally, although illegal adoptions did take place for a period. The practice under discussion is virtually illegal because requiring people to pay cash in $50 and $100 notes is not much better than illegal.

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