Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Members who contributed to this important debate. Clearly, there is huge interest in this area and, as Deputies McConalogue, Doyle, Harris and others said, people in every county have been affected and they are interested in inter-country adoptions. Ireland has wished to engage in such adoptions. Many children have been successfully integrated into families here from a range of other countries, including Russia, Ethiopia, the US and Vietnam. It is heartwarming to meet representatives of the organisations that have developed to support those families such as the Vietnamese, Ethiopian and Russian support groups. I have met all of them and discussed the issues that arise in the context of inter-country adoption.

I am sensitive to the issues raised by Deputies from every party. We do not disagree on them and every Member wants to lend his or her support. A wide range of issues arise currently because we are in a transition period. I want to achieve certainty and I have asked the AAI to bring as much certainty as possible as quickly as possible to the relationship between Ireland and the various countries mentioned. Deputies have asked for this and I will ensure the members of the AAI board are given a copy of the transcript of the debate in order that they become aware of the interest of Members and of the questions they have raised.

My Department and my officials are working hard on this complex area, which covers not only Irish adoption law but also the adoption laws of the countries to which I have referred. It must be ensured that the Hague Convention standards apply. Ireland has signed up to the convention and if we have bilateral agreements with other countries, we must be clear about the best interests of the child and that consent is freely given and ensure there is subsidiarity. In other words, the countries with which we are dealing must be committed to domestic adoption in the first instance before children are put forward for inter-country adoption. That is what we consider to be best practice and those are the standards that we will uphold.

We will ensure that the best interests of the child are paramount at all stages of the adoption process. A number of Members pointed out that if we had taken this debate a number of years ago, there would have been a different tone to it. We would not have referred as much to the best interests of the child and it is encouraging that many Members believe this needs to be at the centre of the adoption debate. Likewise, the children's rights referendum will be about hearing the voice of the child, putting the best interests of the child first and understanding that the child has inherent rights. We will have that debate during the referendum campaign but this is also relevant to the issues we have debated regarding adoption.

As Deputy Doyle said, parents experience great satisfaction and happiness from inter-country adoptions. The main aim is to provide children with an alternative family and, therefore, the child's interests must be paramount. It is through that prism that we have to view the ongoing discussions. I understand people's impatience in regard to finalising agreements with the various countries mentioned in the debate. The AAI has limited resources. I will ensure the organisation is provided with additional staff but there are many priorities relating to children. The first priority in my Department is the protection of children.

It is my intention and that of my Department to bring as much clarity to inter-country adoptions as possible in order that parents know precisely what is the relationship between Ireland and other countries. There is significant interest in this area and it would be worthwhile to organise a briefing for Members in the future. I undertake to do that given the level of interest. I thank Deputies from all sides of the House for their interest in this issue and for their contributions. Many questions were raised and I will communicate with some of the Deputies individually.

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