Noel O'Flynn (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

I welcome this Bill and commend the Minister of State on bringing it forward. Due to the massive changes that have taken place in this country over the past 30 years, the number of Irish children placed for adoption has been drastically reduced. No one would wish for a return to a time when an unplanned pregnancy outside marriage was a source of shame and secrecy and a stigma for the woman or young girl who gave birth to that child. Today, there are emotional and financial supports in place which give people options. That is not always the case in countries less well off than Ireland. In many places around the world, adoption is the only hope of offering children a better life.

I welcome this Bill which ratifies the Hague Convention and puts standards in place for inter-country adoption. This convention sets the standard for safe, secure and ethical adoption. Many couples, however, have contacted me because they find themselves in the terrible situation of having started the adoption process in Vietnam. There are currently 240 couples registered with Helping Hands and awaiting children from Vietnam. Since our bilateral agreement with Vietnam lapsed in May last, these people have been left in turmoil. I have met several couples in Cork who are in this situation and they are devastated. Most began the inter-country adoption process several years ago and now do not know which way to turn. They simply want to provide a loving home and better life to a child who needs it.

I appreciate the Minister of State's efforts to put in place a new bilateral agreement with Vietnam with higher standards, but I appeal to him to do whatever he can to help the couples who have started this process. The people affected are in limbo and anxiously waiting to see how they can proceed. Other signatories to the Hague Convention such as France and Italy have managed to put in place bilateral agreements with Vietnam that meet international standards.

At present, inter-country adoption takes approximately five years and applicants cannot be over 40 years of age. This needs to be examined. I believe that 18 months is an appropriate length of time within which to conclude the process. Couples are waiting extraordinary lengths of time and might then be barred because of their age. We must recognise that today people marry and start families late in life. The adoption process must be flexible enough to facilitate this. If people can have children naturally at 41 or 42 years of age, they should be allowed to adopt at this age too.

Another anomaly in the current system means that prospective parents are unable to switch their applications to other countries should problems arise with their original country of choice. There seems to be no way of switching countries once the process has begun. I appreciate that prospective parents need to familiarise themselves with the culture of the country from which they wish to adopt, but surely they do not need to begin the arduous adoption process all over again.

By ratifying the Hague Convention Ireland will have administrative arrangements with over 70 other countries which have ratified the convention. I appreciate that this will significantly increase the number of countries from which prospective parents can adopt children. Other signatories to the Hague Convention include Brazil, Thailand, South Korea and the Philippines. Most prospective parents when embarking on the process will ask which countries are open for inter-country adoption but unfortunately this is of no benefit to those who have begun the process of adopting a child from Vietnam. It does, however, mean that this nightmare will hopefully not happen again for people beginning the process.

I commend this Bill on putting into legislation high standards for ethical adoption but I ask the Minister of State to help to address the situation of couples who are trying to adopt a child from Vietnam. They are desperate for a resolution. As inter-country adoption is an established part of Irish life, it is vital that the we speed up applications.

I was chairing this debate at 12 o'clock today and listened carefully to the Minister of State's speech and to Deputy Shatter and others. The Minister of State and the Opposition Members made some very good suggestions to improve this Bill. I appeal to the Minister of State when the Bill is on Committee Stage to give the committee the time necessary to discuss it. This is a vital Bill which affects children and Irish couples. I hope that the Minister of Sate will carefully consider any worthwhile amendments tabled by the Opposition and by Members on the Government side and include them if they will improve the legislation.

Nobody on any side of this House has a monopoly on wisdom. We should be open to all proposals and suggestions. If we are not, young couples who want to adopt will be the losers. I have known the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, for a long time and I know he will be very sympathetic to any suggestions. He will hope, as I do, that this will be a good sound Bill with which we can work for several decades, similar to the Act that has been in place since 1952 and all the amendments to that Act. This Bill will see us through the next few decades if we take on board suggestions from everybody in the House.

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