Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

The answer to the Deputy's question is that I am working with adoptive parents and families that are seeking to adopt children through the intercountry adoption method. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and I have been working on this matter for some time. In the course of my work as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, I regularly raise this subject with the authorities from other countries where this issue arises. When I recently visited Russia, for example, I discussed the difficulties that are arising with regard to intercountry adoptions from Russia with the foreign minister there. We will pursue the Ethiopian issue that the Deputy has raised. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, has been pursuing the issue of intercountry adoptions with African countries. We will pursue the issue. As Deputy McGrath is aware, complex issues arise in some of these cases. The legislation and the regulations that apply here in relation to adoption and child custody can sometimes be quite different from those in the countries from which these children are being adopted. Difficulties and delays can arise when efforts are being made to square that.

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