Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)

I wish to underline the urgency and concerns of prospective adoptive parents in this matter and stress to my parliamentary colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Andrews, the importance of bringing these negotiations to a conclusion. I hope he can put on record the facts surrounding the current negotiations between Ireland and Vietnam. Of course the issues in question are complex but prospective adoptive parents need to have the most up-to-date information made available to them.

Obviously, families have real concerns about a difficult process which can take four or five years to complete. Perhaps the Minister of State will outline what he is doing to bring the negotiations to a conclusion.

Another issue that has arisen from this debate, particularly in the Dublin area, is the need for staff to speed up these assessments. Perhaps the Minister of State can outline the communications his officials have had with Vietnam and Russia regarding future bilateral adoption agreements. I hope for a successful outcome in this.

It is important to express our concern about the HSE's role. Obviously, international agreements are complex and other countries are seeking post-adoption commitments from Ireland. The HSE should be pulling out all the stops to make this happen so that children are protected. I do not think it is focusing closely enough on the issue at present, however. At the heart of the matter are children living in faceless institutions who deserve the comfort of a family home. If the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, is required to travel to Vietnam, I urge him to go. The Department of the Taoiseach should get involved if representation is needed at a senior level. We should bring all the force of the State to bear on this issue because the wait cannot be allowed to continue. The complexities can be ironed out and I recognise that the Minister of State is working diligently on bringing the issue to a satisfactory conclusion.

See this speech in context