Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I have given out about the time aspect, but I have no problem revisiting everything. I understand why we are here on Report Stage. It is just that the prolonged timeframe will have a serious impact on how long this legislation is going to take. It is worth putting that in the public domain.

I am sure Deputy Shatter has heard stories to the effect that an applicant couple may not have hit it off with a social worker. This happens all the time. It is hard to give statistics, but I hear anecdotally all the time about applicants who are in terror of a social worker they did not form a bond with, or they might believe that he or she is unnecessarily oppressive in the manner in which they are being examined through the process of assessment.

The adoption committee, therefore, gives an opportunity for an applicant perhaps to ventilate issues that were unsatisfactory in the assessment by the social worker. I can see why people, on paper, might see this as a further unnecessary layer of bureaucracy, but one cannot ignore the fact that in the normal course of human engagement these types of issues can arise, and they have been brought to my attention. I firmly believe that the adoption committees are a good way to ensure that people who are suitably qualified have an opportunity to assist the authority in the work it is supposed to do.

Also, I want to challenge the perception that I am not open to considering amendments. On Committee Stage, I tabled an amendment to ensure that persons appointed by the HSE have relevant knowledge and experience as set out in the section, as it is now, on foot of representations made by Deputies and Senators, in particular Deputy Shatter.

The people appointed to these committees have specific knowledge and experience of the work they are expected to do, that is, to assist the authority with regard to its obligations under the Child Care Act and also to make recommendations to the authority about eligibility and suitability. There are ten or 11 adoption committees in the country and the personnel on those committees are child care managers - the type of person the Deputy has described in his alternative wording. However, I do not think it is necessary to be so restrictive or go into that level of detail.

There is a requirement to have that knowledge and experience; it is now, for the first time, a statutory requirement, which constitutes a safeguard to ensure these people are qualified. In addition, the adoption committee affords an opportunity for dealing with a situation that often occurs - I have heard this anecdotally, but it is almost impossible to elicit the information in any other way - in which social workers do not get on with an applicant, or there is some grievance on the part of the applicant. It is for those reasons that I will not accept the amendments.

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