Mary White (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)

I thank Deputy Brady for sharing his time. This is not just another piece of legislation; it is a most important Bill which cuts to the heart of family life and the real longing of people to become parents. Unfortunately, many people cannot become parents because of a variety of reasons, and they may long to become adoptive parents. Significantly, the most e-mails I have ever received have been on this issue recently. People are lobbying me and other Deputies and Senators to ensure we enact good legislation dealing in particular with people trying to adopt from Vietnam or where bilateral agreements lapse or fall.

People in transition who have applied to adopt a child from Vietnam, Ethiopia or Russia are worried because they find themselves in political limbo. This is good legislation and we want to ensure Ireland ratifies the Hague Convention, which makes the Bill so important. The decision of the Government to unify all adoption legislation was the impetus for this Bill and the principle underlining it, which is to be welcomed. We all know the Hague Convention is crucial as we need an international adoption system that ensures countries party to bilateral agreements put the welfare of the child and the importance of the parent-child relationship at the heart of the process.

We saw indications this week from the final UNICEF report into the adoption process in Vietnam. It indicated that the circumstances in which children are offered for adoption are disturbing and the process of verifying a child's status regarding adoptability are inadequate. We must think not only of the longing of Irish parents to adopt a child from these countries but also of how the adoptions are processed in those countries. Best practice must be used to identify people who want, or may be forced, to put their children up for adoption because of economic circumstances. We must ensure a couple adopting a child will not do so to the expense of parents in a poor country who are perhaps coerced into giving up a child, whom they may never see again.

It is important that Ireland's legal arrangements with other countries are watertight and mindful of international reports. The Bill, as it stands, precludes the State from allowing adoptions from countries which have not signed up to the Hague Convention or do not have bilateral agreements with Ireland. For example, there is no provision for transition arrangements for prospective parents who have begun applications for adoptions from such countries. These parents may have devoted themselves to the process of application, examination for eligibility and waiting times to adopt children from these countries with no bilateral agreements and which have not signed up to the Hague Convention. We must consider the Bill as it stands in this regard to see if we could make these applications valid in the long term.

For many couples, time is not on their side. They worry about the length of time of the process and the details of it, which is good and right. Sometimes there is a hold-up because we must ensure all regulations have been satisfied with children coming to Ireland, and that we are not receiving children under poor circumstances because of legislation in place in other countries. Parents here may benefit as a result but the mother of a child in another country may have been coerced into putting the child up for adoption. I have spent some time in Thailand and Vietnam and I have seen the poverty in those countries and the amount of children there. Everything on both sides must be watertight.

I commend the Minister of State on some of the technical aspects of the Bill which ensure that legal issues relevant to the sensitive matter of adoption are fully provided for. I have met many people across the board who are longing for this legislation to be put in place. The transitional arrangements for countries not signing up to the Hague Convention should be looked at again. All prospective adoptive parents want to ensure that we have a good and robust piece of legislation that we can be proud of. I look forward to further debate.

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