Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

The Minister said facts disclosed in the ISS report, which is in draft form, are a cause for concern. In so far as those facts relate to the Vietnamese adoption process, why were none of them identified by the Irish Government long ago?

Under the bilateral agreement which concluded on 1 May 2009, joint working groups were to be established to monitor inter-country adoptions between Ireland and Vietnam. Apparently they never met to consider or identify in any detail the difficulties that will be disclosed in the ISS report.

Five reported visits were made by officials from the Department of Health and Children to Vietnam and they subsequently furnished reports to the Minister of State. Why are these reports suppressed and not published and made available to the Library?

With regard to the 20 approved cases, it was the understanding that an agreement had been reached with the Vietnamese authorities that would facilitate a child being placed with them. Will the Minister of State clarify the difficulty that has emerged in this regard?

Several individuals and couples have been deemed suitable to adopt in Ethiopia and have been in the process for three years. They are anxious to ensure the Adoption Bill contains suitable transition provisions to facilitate their completion of the process. They do not want the enactment of this legislation to put them back to the starting point in effecting their adoptions in Ethiopia. What will the Government do to address their concerns?

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