Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)

I will take the unusual step of not putting my case myself but of reading a letter from a constituent which says everything. I will not name the people involved, but I received the letter recently. It states:

I am writing to you on behalf of my husband and myself as I have also done in the past. You are probably well aware of the frustration caused to couples like us by Minister Barry Andrews on the lack of information and length of time that lapses between any information he decides to share with us. I would hope that you would sympathise and be willing to question Mr. Andrews on our behalf as to why he does not find it necessary to keep couples like ourselves or support groups informed of what is happening with the works being carried out to get a new bilateral agreement in place so Vietnam can once again open to people who just want to give loving and happy homes to children in orphanages in Vietnam.

We will be 17 years married [this year] and the heartache we have experienced as a childless couple has been at times extremely difficult to deal with. But when we started the road to adopt a child I really thought all the pain and anguish we experienced in the past was finally over. When Vietnam closed I was not very worried as I believed the Minister would sort it quickly. Never did I think that we would be here grasping at straws for a little bit of information about the ongoing hurdles over four months later.

Can you please, please ask Barry Andrews [I am asking him tonight] to give people an answer on whether Vietnamese officials are definitely coming to Ireland for talks at the end of September? I would think that at this stage it is either confirmed or not. Also how long more do people have to wait? Should people forget about Vietnam as a choice of country or not?

I do not think that the Government understands the difficult process we have to endure to get as far as the Adoption Board passing you as fit to adopt. When you get that declaration it means everything to couples like myself and my husband. But though this means we have the right to become a family to some child who needs us as much as we need them Barry Andrews has put a stop to this dream becoming a reality. It is one thing to have miscarriage after miscarriage and also a stillborn baby, as in our case as these are as far as I am concerned an act of God but Barry Andrews has no right to play God with our lives. We have proven we are good, honourable people and can give a child a loving, happy and secure family home. We need answers as it is ridiculous how long this is taking without any real information being shared with us. Please can you do your best to help us? The not knowing is agonising and I await your response.

All I can do is put that letter to the Minister of State tonight and ask him to give as much information as possible and, more important, hope to the people who are undergoing agony and anguish not knowing what is happening.

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