Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour)

I thank my colleagues for affording me the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I am grateful to the Minister for meeting with me to discuss the possibility of a bilateral meeting with the Ethiopian Government. The Adoption Authority of Ireland is advancing discussions with authorities in Mexico and Vietnam, but there has been less progress in regard to those people who wish to adopt children from Ethiopia, including the parents of the 250 to 300 children already adopted from that country and who wish to adopt another child. Best practice, as prescribed on previous occasions, was that a second child should preferably be adopted from the country of origin of the first child. There are 7 million orphans in Ethiopia, all of them looking for a loving, warm home. I have met with parents and adopted children and have seen the joy and fulfilment that adoption, inter-country or domestic, brings to families. It is incumbent on us to do what we can not only to look after Irish citizen children who have been placed for adoption but also the millions of orphans outside of the State.

It is important to note that some 80% of inter-country adoptions involve countries which are outside the Hague convention. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs, together with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, must work to dial up bilateral agreements with such countries and to assist the Adoption Authority of Ireland's capacity to oversee adoptions which fall outside the convention. Advanced and developed countries throughout the world are home to people seeking to adopt, while underdeveloped countries are full of orphans in need of homes. It makes sense to bring the two together, in a way that observes best practice.

I thank the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Joe Costello, who, days after discussing the issue with the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, and me, travelled to Ethiopia to advance negotiations with the authorities there. As long as we keep the spotlight on the matter, we can bring it to a satisfactory conclusion.

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