Michael Kennedy (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak briefly on the Bill. Ireland's signing up to the Hague convention is long overdue and very welcome. Most Members have received a great number of representations on this Bill. One issue of which we are all now aware is the length of time the adoption process takes. Many couples have informed me that the timelag involved is often up to five years. That causes a great deal of anxiety for couples. It is far too long. From that aspect alone, hopefully, the bringing into law of this Bill will speed up the process and allow couples to know the rules and regulations that apply and what they must do. Many people have advised me of the frustration they suffer during the long period of this process. Knowing a number of adoptive parents, I know the joy having an adopted child among their family brings them. In terms of the Bill, it is very necessary to put the child's interest to the forefront.

I have also received representations regarding the transitional arrangement, particularly in regard to Russia and China. We need to deal with that issue. The grandfather clause, as it is called, is another matter that has been a major issue in the representations I received. I have also received representations from adopted children concerning the location of records, with which I will deal later.

I welcome the commitment of the Minister of State, Deputy Andrews, to continue discussions with the Hague Conference to seek advice on how to deal with cases which are midstream. I understand more than 500 applications exist for adoptions of children from Vietnam, Russia, Ethiopia and other countries. I believe an amendment should be considered in the future. I would like the Minister of State to respond to that matter. It is of grave concern to those people who have been five and more years involved in the adoption process. I understand there are legal issues involved and there is also the issue of Ireland not having been part of the Hague convention. I welcome the fact that the Minister of State said he will discuss with the Attorney General and Adoption Board how we may proceed in this respect.

I have received a large number of representations on the grandfather clause. I am not suggesting we can willy nilly enter into agreements regarding adoptions with countries that do not subscribe to the principles of the Hague convention, but in the case of couples who have adopted a child and who wish to adopt a sibling, the issues involved need to dealt with in a pragmatic way. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Andrews, to consider that issue and to bring forward an amendment to the legislation, if possible. Many couples who have adopted a child from Vietnam or another country would like to adopt a brother or sister. When one reads the e-mails and letters one gets, one can understand the love a couple give the child they have adopted. One knows they will provide a loving home for a child who is living in an orphanage or in bad circumstances in their homeland. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Andrews, to examine that aspect.

Another issue on which I have received representations is the storage of records. This might not seem very serious to many people in the context that an citizen can walk into the office in Westland Row and receive his or her birth certificate straight away, having paid the small fee involved. An adopted child does not have that facility. It has been put to me that there is discrimination against adopted children in that they can only deal with the office in Roscommon. That may seem rather trivial to some people but there are people in my constituency who are adopted and the parents have set up an association for adopted parents. They believe this to be a particularly discriminatory issue. On their behalf, I ask the Minister of State if records could be made available to adopted children, similar to manner in which they are available to ordinary citizens. I would like the Minister of State to give a commitment that he will address that issue.

This Bill it is long overdue. The principle of the Hague convention is important. On a day like today when the Murphy report into the sexual abuse of children by clergy is being published, it is critical that we bring into law as quickly as possible a Bill that ensures that no children, whether they are Irish born children or adopted children, will ever suffer at the hands of any institution of the State.

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