Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

To briefly respond to that, there is a policy issue in relation to this matter which is do we, as a matter of policy in all circumstances forevermore, confine adoption to persons under 18 years of age or is the Government open to considering, for the type of individual I have described, the possibility of extending of adoption to them? It is not necessarily an issue which is going to be resolved by the wording proposed by the all-party committee for a children's rights referendum, which includes addressing certain adoption issues, though the provision proposed contained within that may more readily facilitate this.

I want to say that I recognise in the context of this amendment that if this amendment were to be made, I think there are other changes which would be required in our adoption legislation. I think if one had a 25 or 30 year old who had been in long-term fosterage and wished to be adopted, for example, by the foster parents it would be a little odd to go looking for the consent or agreement of the original biological mother when this was a decision made by an adult. I think there is a very fundamental decision to be made, which is whether adult individuals who had been in long-term fosterage should be given the legal autonomy to be able to make this type of decision without reverting to the biological parents.

I essentially raise this issue to try to generate some discussion and consideration of this which has really not been the subject of any detailed public debate. I welcome the fact that the Minister of State said that when we come back, hopefully we will have the children's rights referendum this year and, quite clearly, further adoption legislation would then be required. In that context, it is my intention to withdraw this amendment and not press it.

I merely ask the Minister of State a question, in the context of his reply. We are aware that the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children recommended that new draft proposals for adoption legislation should be published before we have the children's rights amendment. I want to ask the Minister of State if there has been any progress made in that regard because I am concerned that it does not become an obstacle to the time line of holding a referendum in 2010.

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