Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)

I welcome the Bill to the House because it offers genuine hope to thousands of couples who desperately want a family but for various reasons cannot have children of their own. It opens the door to giving children a loving home, with an extended family in a new country.

The Bill provides for the incorporation of the Hague Convention into Irish law, a welcome move which will implement minimum standards for the operation of inter-country adoptions and, I hope, improve the adoption experience for couples. As many speakers have noted, however, the legislation has many flaws. An opportunity has been lost to effect positive change and genuine reform of the adoption system.

Many young couples who wish to start a family have endured considerable upset and trauma as a result of unsuccessful pregnancies, infertility and many other challenges that face would-be parents. They desperately want a family of their own and deserve our support and that of the Minister of State with responsibility for children to improve the adoption process and make it more accessible.

New life is extremely important. As a mother, I have experienced the joy of bringing a new baby home to my family. I am also aware of the challenges and opportunities presented by having a child. Many couples who cannot conceive face terrible heartache and sadness. For many of them, adoption is the only avenue left open to have a child. They have endured years of emotional turmoil, endless bureaucracy and psychological testing to qualify as a parent in the eyes of the law. Some will argue that these couples are more qualified as parents than many of those with families of their own. Men and women in this position do not face a nine month pregnancy but four to five years waiting to adopt a child. During this time, they look forward with unbearable hope and excitement to welcoming a new child into their home. They have stored up much love and affection in the knowledge that a whole new world is about to open up for them and their new son or daughter. For this reason, it is important to have in place a proper framework to facilitate adoption and to ensure the process is as straightforward and stress free as possible for parents and children. We know the stress endured by parents but we must not forget that the welfare of the child is paramount and every effort must be made to ensure the child comes first throughout the process.

The experience of adoption in Ireland was once much different from that of today. Many young, single mothers were forced to put their babies up for adoption for fear of bringing shame on their families. The large number of babies available for adoption meant couples at one time did not face a long wait before adopting a child, as is the case today. They did not rely on inter-country adoptions and bureaucracy was minimal. These position at that time created particular problems, however. For example, many birth parents were never able to make a connection with children they did not want to give up for adoption.

The position has changed utterly. Many young mothers with newborn babies can bring them up without stigma and enjoy the love and affection of their family, friends and community. This possibility was not available to many mothers in the past. Ireland has a tradition of fostering and many people foster children aged between four and eight years, filling a gap in the lives of these children with love and family surroundings.

Many couples seeking to adopt a child must look abroad. In recent years, many children have been adopted from a number of foreign countries, principally Russia, China, and Vietnam. These beautiful children have brought great happiness to their new families. In recent months, I have received a large number of e-mails and letters from people who are angry and frustrated as a result of the delays in inter-country adoptions. The Government has allowed bilateral agreements with Vietnam and Russia to lapse. Many people used these agreements as a bridge pending legislation. Couples seeking adoptions in these countries are now stuck in limbo, half way through the adoption process and with no real end in sight.

Once the Bill is enacted, parents will be allowed to adopt only from countries which have signed the Hague Convention. As Russia and Vietnam have not yet signed the convention, adoptions from these counties will no longer be an option for would-be Irish parents. As many as 300 Irish couples are some way through the adoption process with Vietnam. They have been through years of painstaking meetings and interviews with social workers and the Health Service Executive and have been granted what are known as declarations of suitability. Having reached the final hurdle, they are being told they may not cross it. We must not abandon these couples and I plead with the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, to resolve these cases as a matter of urgency. New bilateral agreements must be formally agreed to ensure children in Vietnam and Russia are not abandoned.

Another element missing from the Bill is what is known as a "grandfather clause". The introduction of such a clause would enable couples who have adopted a child from a country which has not signed the Hague Convention or with which we do not have a bilateral agreement to adopt a second child from the same country. Such a measure makes sense as it would allow many parents to adopt a brother or sister of an adopted child, thus creating a genuine sense of family. I urge the Minister to introduce a grandfather clause on Committee Stage.

It is also important to take account of the circumstances of biological parents in the adoption process. We must be careful to ensure children are being adopted with all the proper procedures in place and for all the right reasons. If both parties are agreeable, open adoptions, under which biological parents can retain some contact with the child given up for adoption, should be placed on a statutory basis.

I am aware that the adoption process is complicated and I welcome the establishment of the Adoption Authority of Ireland. I hope the authority will help new parents throughout their adoption journey. Proper post-adoption services must be established to help and support families with any difficulties they encounter following an adoption. We must also ensure that money does not dictate who can and cannot adopt a child, especially in the area of foreign adoptions. Only this week, we heard from the United Nations that substantial fees are being charged by some adoption agencies to adopting couples on the pretext that the money will be used for humanitarian purposes. The practice whereby authorities which assist with adoptions in some countries receive large sums of money for signing off on adoptions is unacceptable. Adoption should not be about personal or monetary gain. We must never forgot that it is about the rights and welfare of children.

Between 1991 and 2009, 4,000 children were adopted in Ireland. Many of us will have seen in our communities and families the joy these children bring to couples who are unable to have children. We must continue to work on behalf of couples who wish to bring a child into their home and give him or her loving care. While the legislation goes some way towards assisting such couples, we need to ensure we have dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's before it is enacted.

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