Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

I raise the very important issue of intercountry adoption and the urgent need for our Government to improve the situation, in particular as it relates to Ethiopia. Before I get into the detail of my questions, I would like to commend and thank all of our adoptive parents for their supportive and valuable contributions to the lives of children. In particular, I thank the 300 Irish families that are dealing with the specific matter I am raising this morning. Will the Tánaiste, in his capacity as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, support intercountry adoptive parents? I refer particularly to the 300 families I have mentioned but also to other potential adoptive parents. The Tánaiste is probably aware that there are 5 million orphans in Ethiopia, which has a huge population of 80 million. Just 3,031 Ethiopian orphans are involved in intercountry adoptions. The direct connection with Ireland is that 300 of them are being adopted by Irish families. Will the Tánaiste support these families as a matter of priority? Will he revisit and implement further the Hague Convention on the protection of children? Will he push the issue at Government level? Will he take steps to ensure the adoption authority is authorised to commence negotiations with the Ethiopian authorities?

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