Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I absolutely reject the proposition that I, in any proactive way, am trying to put up a roadblock to this legislation. The opposite is the case. I am working, as is my office and that of the Attorney General, to bring forward legislation that will be as supportive as possible within the constitutional constraints to which the Deputy, this House and I are subject. If one reads the judgments of the European court in respect of this issue and if one reads the Supreme Court judgment in the IO'T v. B case, one will discern how complex is this area. I refer to the constitutional right to the protection of privacy for the natural mother. Moreover, given the way adoption is dealt with in this country, which effectively has been closed adoption from a constitutional point of view, one can discern the legal difficulties that are involved in this area. There is no question of me or my Department trying to put up a roadblock because as I stated, the precise opposite is the case. I believe the Deputy is underestimating the constitutional complexities that are involved in this legislation. I am working on these and will bring forward the strongest legislation I can as soon as I have the legal determination on those issues.

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