Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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I would appreciate sharing my time with Deputy Coonan. The Acting Chairman might remind me when a minute remains.

Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs for taking the Adjournment. First, I pay tribute to the more than 40 Irish humanitarian agencies that work with children in Belarus in the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. On 25 and 26 April 1986, the world's worst nuclear power accident occurred in Chernobyl in the former USSR. The accident killed more than 30 people immediately and as a result of high radiation levels in the surrounding 20-mile radius, 135,000 people were evacuated. Unfortunately, the Belarusian Government has announced restrictions on travel visas for children travelling to Ireland for rest and recuperation. These children come to Ireland to live with host families twice yearly, three months in summer and one month at Christmas. Since there is significant concern they will not be able to travel for Christmas, I hope the Minister will have news in that regard. The trip gives their immune systems a chance to recover from radiation and the children, mostly orphans, receive tender love and care from their adoptive families.

Further complicating the issue is the matter of a bilateral agreement on child care sought by the Belarusian Government last year which still has not been completed by the Department of Foreign Affairs. This agreement needs to be handled immediately as the repercussions of tardiness may have terrible implications for the children of Belarus travelling to Ireland. The responsibility for this agreement lies with the Minister's Department. Without it, families are unable to progress any further on the problem of travel restrictions. It is imperative that the issue be resolved in the next two weeks to allow at least some of the children visit their Irish families for Christmas.

Let us be under no illusion. Unless the child care agreement is finalised, children from Belarus will not be allowed to travel to Ireland again. The document has been awaiting completion in the Department since April 2007. The Government must not miss this opportunity as it may not get another. A similar opportunity in respect of adoptions was missed some years ago, since when there have been no adoptions between Belarus and Ireland. The restrictions imposed are that no child over the age of 14 will take part in the rest and recuperation programme and no child will travel more than three times in his or her lifetime to any one country.

It is important that the bilateral agreement be signed and sealed by the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Health and Children immediately. Failure to comply with the agreement will most certainly seal the fate of the Chernobyl children as it is highly unlikely that Ireland will get any second chance in this regard.

On 13 October, the President of the Republic of Belarus signed a decree introducing amendments and additions to another decree on children's recuperation abroad on the basis of foreign aid, which was issued on 18 February 2004. The President's press service states that, according to the decree, Belarusian organisations will be entitled to send children for recuperation to the foreign countries with which Belarus has concluded international agreements with the provision of government guarantees of safe stay and scheduled returns. Such an agreement has only been concluded with Italy.

While agreements are being negotiated, Belarus permits foreign health promotion trips of special groups formed of children who cannot go abroad in regular groups because of document supported medical contra-indications. The new decree establishes age limits and restrictions on the number of visits to a single country. From now on, recuperation abroad is only available to children of up to 14 years of age and they can go to the same country no more than three times.

The Council of the Republic of Belarus has approved the ratification of the Belarusian-ltalian agreement stipulating terms and conditions on recuperation holidays. I urge the Government to sign a similar agreement with Belarus.

Noel Coonan (Tipperary North, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Neville for raising this matter on the Adjournment and I urge the Minister to use his skills and many talents, especially in diplomacy, to seek a resolution to this matter, bearing in mind the outstanding efforts of the volunteers and host families. Bonds of friendship and contacts between various families and children in Ireland and Belarus have been formed. It is a hand of friendship from a well-off country to a less well-off country.

I ask the Minister to bear in mind the issue of visas. The change from what was a group visa to individual visas makes coming to Ireland difficult for the Belarusian children who most need it because they must now travel to Moscow. The Minister is aware of the situation and I support his efforts. I urge him to leave no stone unturned in realising the dreams and hopes of many in this country.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputies for raising this issue. Visits to Ireland by children from the Chernobyl region of Belarus have been continuing for more than 17 years. There are approximately 50 associations in Ireland involved in bringing to this country more than 2,500 children each year for rest and recuperation. I cannot praise too highly the selfless efforts of the many charities and families who respond so generously year after year. In recognition of the valuable work of one of the charities, Chernobyl Children's Project International, Irish Aid committed €600,000 over three years in March 2008 for the development of day care centres in Belarus.

The Belarusian authorities have frequently underlined their satisfaction with the welcome afforded the children in Ireland. However, as a result of the failure of a small number of children to return home from other states following recuperation visits, Belarus has proposed to a number of EU member states, including Ireland, formal agreements that would secure the welfare of the children and ensure their return to Belarus. Pending the conclusion of such agreements, the Belarusian Government indicated in late August that it would be suspending visits by Chernobyl children.

Securing the continuation of the Chernobyl children's visits to Ireland is of considerable importance to me as it is to the host families and I am determined to bring the matter to a successful conclusion. As soon as I learned about the suspension of visits, I met Ms Adi Roche of Chernobyl Children's Project International on 8 September to hear her concerns at first hand. I asked Ireland's ambassador to Moscow, who is also accredited to Belarus, to travel to Minsk the following day to register the Government's strong concern about the suspension of the children's visits in the absence of a formal agreement. I have subsequently met other organisations, including the one headed by Mr. Liam Grant in the south east.

On 11 September, at my invitation, the chargé d'affaires of the Belarusian Embassy in London travelled to Dublin. We confirmed to him that we would work with the Belarusian authorities to arrive at an agreement between our two Governments that would provide a framework for future visits. There followed an intensive series of exchanges at official level in September and early October and a revised draft agreement was forwarded by my Department to the Belarusian authorities on 6 October. A response to this requesting further information was received from Belarus on 16 October.

In the meantime, I met the Belarusian Foreign Minister, Sergei Martynov, in Luxembourg on 13 October. During a cordial exchange, I expressed the Government's strong hope that, even if negotiations with the Belarusian Government were not fully concluded, visits by the Chernobyl children to Ireland would be allowed to go ahead over Christmas.

In a separate but related development, however, the Irish ambassador in Moscow was informed by the Belarusian authorities on 16 October that a presidential decree had been signed covering travel by Belarusian children overseas. The decree completely blocks such visits to countries where there is no bilateral agreement. Regarding countries that conclude agreements after 1 October, it limits visits to those children between the ages of seven and 14 and the number of visits to any one country to a maximum of three. Those countries with agreements that were concluded in advance of that date have no such restrictions. There is only one such country.

Following consultations with a number of Chernobyl non-governmental organisations, it was decided that the presidential decree also needed to be addressed in the terms of our draft agreement. On 24 October, my Department replied to the Belarusian note of 16 October and proposed a method of doing this. A response attaching a new draft of the agreement was received through our embassy in Moscow late on 14 November. The text of the revised agreement is being examined closely by officials in my Department and in the Office of the Minister for Children in consultation with the Attorney General's office and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. An interdepartmental meeting will be held the day after tomorrow to determine our response. In addition, at a meeting of the Government this morning, I secured the formal consent of colleagues to the signature of the agreement once negotiations have concluded. It is intended to forward our response to Minsk without delay with a view to finalising the negotiations at the earliest possible date. Officials are on standby to go to Minsk if required. I am also ready to intervene further at the political level if necessary.

My Department has received positive indications from Belarusian officials that visits by children from Belarus can continue while the negotiating process is ongoing. I hope that these indications can be confirmed with the Belarusian Government in the coming days. Close contact is being maintained with the charities dealing with Chernobyl children as the situation evolves and I am determined to find a satisfactory outcome to this issue.

We are at the penultimate stage in this delicate process and we have worked closely with all of the groups to resolve the issue together. The response to the process has been positive. I understand people's concerns but there is a need for patience on all sides. We will do everything possible to arrive at a satisfactory solution in respect of this matter.

Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Will the Minister keep us informed of progress?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will.