Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

Four of the grouped amendments are in my name, namely, amendments Nos. 9, 18, 33 and 76. Essentially, all of the amendments are about people who are caught in the transition from the old regime to the new regime. They present real, human problems for the prospective adoptive parents concerned and indeed the prospective children who may be adopted in the process. Of course the welfare of the child is paramount in all of this, but a number of situations arise in the amendments. I acknowledge the fact that the Minister of State in amendment No. 75 has addressed some of the concerns by identifying the date of declaration as the date from which a person can adopt under the old system, but there are many other issues, some of which have been raised by Deputy Shatter.

He particularly makes the point that people's applications are dealt with unevenly across different parts of the country. If I have applied for adoption in my part of the country I may well be at declaration stage now, whereas Deputy Shatter, Deputy Ó Caoláin or the Minister, who may have applied in another part of the country, might not yet be at the declaration stage. It is clear that it is uneven.

I have a number of other concerns about the transition period, some of which I am trying to address in amendment No. 18. Deputy Shatter mentioned that some parents who have adopted in Mexico have met the Minister of State. I understand the parents have a couple of outstanding issues in that regard. I wish to raise some of their questions with the Minister of State. Their main contention is that Mexico has signed the convention, but has a different system. It does not use a central applications system. The parents feel that difficulties are arising because we are asking the Mexican authorities to comply with the manner in which Ireland has interpreted the convention, rather than allowing them to interpret it in their own way.

I would like to ask the Minister of State a specific question, which applies in general. It has been put to me by the parents' group. The Adoption Board informed the group that the adoption declarations currently covered by the transitional arrangements may fall under the Bill when they are due for renewal. This is contrary to the belief held by the wider adoption community. I ask the Minister of State to clarify whether the arrangements will fall when their date of renewal comes up. That is a specific question.

I would also like to ask specifically about the 20 applications that were being processed in Vietnam when this issue arose. I understand the Minister of State had discussions on this matter when he went to Vietnam. There was a suggestion that the Vietnamese authorities, as a gesture of goodwill, would agree to process the 20 cases. It seems that the board and the Minister of State are satisfied that there are no legal impediments to allowing these adoptions to proceed. I would like an update on these specific cases because there seems to be some doubt about them.

Amendment No. 33, in my name, and amendment No. 32, in Deputy Shatter's name, address the so-called grandfather clause. Having listened to the Minister of State, I changed the relevant period of time from ten years, as proposed in my original amendment, to five years. Those affected by this measure have already gone through the process and were deemed suitable the first time round. There is a genuine case to be considered when a family that has already adopted a child wishes to provide a home to another child from a similar cultural background. I ask the Minister of State to consider that.

I do not want to labour all the points I am making. They relate to people who entered the process in good faith, under the regime that applied at the time, but are now caught up in this transitional period. We need to show compassion for and understanding of these families, with the proviso that the best interests of the child are always paramount. I do not suggest that anything unsafe should be done in regard to these children. While I welcome the amendment the Minister of State has tabled, I ask him to consider the points being made from the Opposition benches in response to the real human situations in which families find themselves.

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