Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister on her elevation to the portfolio of Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and wish her the best of luck in her role.

Guím gach rath uirthi sa ról tábhachtach, suntasach seo. Tá níos mó aird tugtha le cúpla bliain anuas ar ghnóthaí a bhaineann le leanaí, cúram leanaí agus cúrsaí óige i measc páirtithe polaitiúla agus i measc na meán. Is cóir é go bhfuil Roinn agus Aire faoi leith ag deileáil leis na hábhair sin. Tá súil agam go mbeidh torthaí dearfacha ar obair an Aire agus go mbainfidh leanaí, teaghlaigh agus daoine óga na tíre leas astu.

The Minister's track record and commitment to children's rights are well known and well regarded. While we have considerable reservations about the direction of the Government and the programme for Government which has already seen some controversy regarding the proposed measure on child benefit, we hope to work with the Minister in a constructive and progressive manner to ensure the best outcomes, with the best interests of children, young people and families at their centre. I thank the Minister for the briefing yesterday. Although I was unable to attend, a representative of my office attended and it was very useful to have a number of questions about the legislation answered. It was a very welcome move and I hope it will continue during the lifetime of this Dáil.

The legislation is welcome and we will support it, given that we deem it to be progressive, owing to the removal of some extremely restrictive and arbitrary barriers in adoption law for far too long. To some extent, it brings adoption law into the 21st century. It has been recognised for some time that there is a requirement for the remit of adoption system to be extended beyond traditional marriage. In his remarks on the Adoption Act 2010 my colleague Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said, "Finally, I also note the Bill fails to recognise the widening reality of what constitutes a family in Ireland today."

A particularly notable measure in the Bill is the removal of barriers which require a birth parent to adopt alongside a step-parent who wants to adopt his or her spouse's child. Archaic laws such as this led to the unfair and bizarre situation where a birth parent had to follow a convoluted and unfair process whereby he or she adopted his or her own child. Adoption, with proper safeguards and adequate oversight, can ensure children are safeguarded and brought up in a loving family environment that results in their physical, intellectual, emotional and social needs being met in a way that allows them to develop.

We also welcome and support the change in criteria whereby the High Court may dispense with parental consent in situations where it is required and in the interests of the child. We welcome the extending of the grounds on which people can adopt. It opens up many avenues to loving families, in whatever shape or form they may take, to have the opportunity to display their ability to look after a child and raise him or her to become an adult with the high esteem and value he or she may not always have received and with his or her best interests kept at heart.

It is particularly good that the rights of cohabitees and civil partners which were advanced in the 2015 Act are being consolidated in this legislation. There is a degree of legislative tidying up and consolidation in the Bill, which is welcome.

The headline issue is that the Bill is a follow-up to the children's right referendum in 2012 on the thirty-first amendment of the Constitution, in which the rights of the child became part of the fabric of our society and the Constitution. The referendum and this legislation require that the best interests of the child be considered and paramount. Is cinnte gur reifreann tábhachtach a bhí ann, os rud é gur chuir sé é ar bhonn bunreachtúil go raibh gá tuairim an pháiste a thógáil san áireamh. It meant children were viewed with the respect they deserved rather than being treated as though they were somehow irrelevant in the proceedings.

I refer, for example, to such simple things as being able to have a valued opinion on their own future and fate, with the age of maturity taken into consideration. I welcome sections 9 and 14 and the other provisions of this legislation that require the views of the child to be given due weight. This is appropriate and very proper.

The State's record of protecting vulnerable children has many blemishes. When Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin spoke on the Adoption Act 2010, he said, "In Ireland at present, there clearly is more inward adoption, if one can use that term, than outward adoption." It is possible that we may see a spike in "outward" applications and perhaps "outward" adoptions in the years to come because so many families in our society are seeking to regularise their situations. I echo the sentiments of Deputy Robert Troy in that regard. If there is to be an increase in applications, there is certainly a need for sufficient resources to be put in place. While I accept Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin's suggestion that there was "more inward adoption ... than outward adoption" in 2010, that was certainly not always the case. I doubt that many people need to be reminded of what happened at the mother and baby homes. Such scandals continue to trundle on today. Some outstanding matters remain unresolved, or have not been resolved in an adequate way. Babies were found in mass graves in Tuam and in similar facilities. The sad reality is that many young women had their children taken from them and placed with adoptive families against their will. Many families, including many marginalised mothers in difficult situations, had children taken out of their care even though this should not have happened. Many injustices were done. Is mór an scannal é. Caithfimid i gcónaí bheith airdeallach i dtaobh an leatrom a déanadh ar na máithreacha agus na leanaí sin.

The Hague Convention is very important in this context. We must ensure no child who is adopted into Ireland has been separated from his or her mother in the same way that children were separated from Irish mothers over so many years. Strong human rights safeguards, backed up by legislation like this, are essential. The record of this State is worth remembering. I hope this Bill helps to ensure history does not repeat itself. We must make sure we have learned from our mistakes and failures. This country's ratification in 2010 of the 1993 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption was seen as a very positive move at the time. It remains so. Although the provisions and aspirations of the convention represent a high ideal for which we continue to aim, I note that many families that wish to adopt, including many people who would be ideal candidates as adoptive parents, have found it difficult and expensive to complete adoptions in the post-Hague Convention environment. I understand that few children have been adopted with post-Hague declarations. It seems that the process remains difficult, slow and expensive. If steps can be taken to rectify this without undermining the crucial protections offered by the Hague Convention, they should be explored. I look forward to working with the Minister in that regard. It is of grave importance that we maintain high standards. This is why we signed up to the Hague Convention in the first place, just as it was the main reasoning behind the 2012 referendum. The paramount importance of the best interests of the child should always be at the front and at the centre when intercountry adoptions are being explored. The same rights and esteem should be applied to all children, regardless of their origin.

I would like to mention a policy option that needs to be considered but has not been dealt with in this Bill or in previous legislation. Adoption, like many other legal processes in Ireland, is a very costly procedure. It often costs families many thousands of euro - amounts of €10,000 or €15,000 or perhaps additional amounts - to adopt children. Many able people with the potential to be superb, loving parents would be immediately excluded from the possibility of adoption because of such costs. Once again, the best interests of the child need to be maintained at the heart of this process and as the first priority. Sílim gur chóir go mbeadh na deiseanna céanna i dtaobh uchtáil ag daoine sna grúpaí ísealioncaim agus meánioncaim agus atá ag daoine sa ghrúpa ardioncaim. People should not be excluded from the adoption process in a way that is dictated purely by their socioeconomic status and their ability to pay substantial amounts of money. I am not sure this issue can necessarily be dealt with in the Bill before the House but if there is an opportunity to do so, I hope the Minister will take on board the point I have made and give it some time and consideration. I emphasise that this should not involve any diminution of the key safeguards involved in this Bill, in the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 or the Adoption Act 2010.

I welcome the extension of the consultation process to those deemed by legislation to be "non-guardian adults". I anticipate that this is an attempt to ensure those who have played the most significant and foremost role in the upbringing of a child are listened to. Even though a non-guardian might not be the legal guardian of the child in question - there are many such cases - he or she may have had a very prominent role in the life and general upbringing of the child. In some cases, he or she may have been the primary caregiver behind the scenes. This legislation opens the door to considerable possibilities in that regard. In theory, any child can now be adopted at one stage or another, depending on his or her circumstances. This is a welcome measure because it gives children a safety net that prevents them from falling through the cracks in so far as that is possible. We must endeavour to ensure no child falls through the cracks. This measure is also welcome because it allows for the adoption of children who may be in long-term foster placements. This will alleviate some of the pressure on our social work service, which is already over-burdened. I emphasise the need to ensure resources and strategies are in place to deal with any increase or spike in applications.

I look forward to the introduction of the adoption tracing Bill, which will give every child the right to identity. I understand following yesterday's briefing that this important Bill will be brought to the House in the not so distant future. I hope this happens because every child should have this right. As others have already said, the Bill has been promised for quite some time. I hope progress is made with it as soon as possible. I look forward to seeing that happen. On the face of it, the adoption tracing Bill will further strengthen the strong and rigorous legislation that is before the House today. I look forward to examining how this Bill might be improved on Committee Stage. I think the legislation proposed in this area will shore up many issues for people, including issues of identity and peace of mind.

This is a technical Bill in some respects because it seeks to amalgamate or consolidate certain sections of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 and the Adoption Acts in a sort of parent Act and to reform and give clarity to various sections of the Adoption Act 2010. We will be considering technical and policy-related amendments to this complex legislation to see how it can be strengthened. As I have said, this Bill has the full support of Sinn Féin as the best interests of the child are at its heart. I hope the progressive nature of this Bill sets down a marker for other Bills that will be presented to the House. We need legislation in this area that reflects a modern Ireland rather than leaves us trying to catch up to our European counterparts. For some time, this country's adoption legislation has left us seeking to catch up.

During the public debate of recent weeks, Sinn Féin has regularly emphasised its desire to see the Government taking positive and progressive action, in a general sense. We are keen to support the Government when it takes action and proposes legislation in a positive and progressive way. We are not interested in opposing legislation for the sake of it, although we will hold the Government to account when it makes mistakes and errors and pursues policies with which we disagree. We are happy to support good-quality legislation that improves the rights of children, advances Irish society and gives further support to Irish families. It is valuable and welcome that the first Bill to be introduced by the Government is one we are happy to support. I believe the people voted for a forward-thinking Parliament. Regardless of the composition of the Government that has been formed, the opportunity exists for us to work as the forward-thinking Parliament for which people voted. Nobody wants the politics of old. It will be interesting to see whether such a change takes place. Beidh sé sin le feiceáil. Táimid breá sásta tacú leis an bpíosa reachtaíochta seo agus cabhrú leis an Aire agus an Dáil ag obair chun feabhas a chur ar an mBille seo.

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