Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 82: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the contacts made with the Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam in the course of his visit to Ireland on 22 and 23 October 2009 to discuss the conclusion of a new bilateral agreement between Ireland and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam with regard to inter-country adoptions; the position and the progress made during the course of such discussions; and if it remains her intention to conclude such an agreement or to take no further action and await both Ireland and Vietnam becoming parties to the Hague Convention on inter-country adoption. [39515/09]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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My office has been in negotiations with the Vietnamese Government regarding the drafting of a new bilateral inter-country adoption agreement for some time. I have indicated my intention to await the finalisation of the International Social Services, ISS, report on inter-country adoption in Vietnam before making final decisions regarding the next steps. I will be considering the report along with the report published in August by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The ISS report should be finalised this month and I will be communicating my decision at the earliest opportunity. I am mindful of the difficult position many prospective adopters find themselves in at this point.

The Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. HoÀng Trung H?i, recently led a trade mission to Ireland. I took this opportunity to meet again with him on 23 October - I had already met him during my July visit to Vietnam - and adoption matters were discussed. The meeting was most amicable and allowed both Governments to outline their current positions on the bilateral agreement and legislative developments in each jurisdiction, including Hague Convention ratification. Both Governments restated their desire to achieve the highest standards in inter-country adoption and they committed to ongoing dialogue to advance these goals.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Is the Minster of State aware he originally told the House that the ISS report would be published before the end of October after which some form of public debate would be held? Will he explain why he is now giving a November date? How soon will it be published?

What is the Minister of State's thinking with regard to a new bilateral agreement? He said there was an exchange between himself and the Vietnamese deputy premier. Will the Minister of State actively seek to enter into a new bilateral agreement? Alternatively, has he determined to let the matter stand until such time as the Adoption Bill 2009 is passed and the Hague Convention is ratified by both countries?

If that is the case, approximately 300 couples and individuals deemed suitable to adopt by the Adoption Board and who intended to adopt in Vietnam will find themselves in limbo. The Minister of State will be aware of 20 individuals or couples who had submitted all relevant papers to the Vietnamese to effect an adoption but no child has been allocated yet. No progress has been made in advancing these adoption applications. Is the Minister of State aware the Adoption Board and the Helping Hands organisation are waiting for some authorisation from him or his office to facilitate these 20 outstanding cases?

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Yes, I did indicate initially that the ISS report would be out in October. However, in the meantime the report has much to say about many receiving countries, including Ireland, and some of those countries had much to say too which delayed the report's finalisation. I understand it has been finalised and will be signed off by the Vietnamese Government soon. This report was commissioned with the co-operation of the Vietnamese department responsible for inter-country adoption and its ministry of justice. Last week, I wrote to UNICEF to encourage the ISS to produce this report as soon as possible for the reasons mentioned by the Deputy.

Everyone involved in this issue must have a mature discussion on the report's impact. There are facts contained in it which are a cause for considerable concern for both the receiving countries and the countries of origin. These will all have to be taken into account. The paramount consideration is to ensure the best interests of the child in Vietnam and that the safest possible adoptions can be effected.

We must also reflect on the fact that inter-country adoption is a risky procedure. The writ of this country runs only as far as the jurisdiction. Going outside to other countries, we cannot know what is happening or whether procedures are being followed to the nth degree. We must also bear in mind the large number of people with declarations of eligibility and suitability for adoption. They are frustrated on the one hand by the long time it has taken for them to be assessed and, on the other, that we have had closure with Vietnam again. Earlier in the year, Ethiopia and Russia closed for different reasons beyond our control. It is extremely frustrating for parents in those circumstances.

I am making strenuous efforts to bring closure to the 20 cases to which the Deputy referred. It came to my attention during my visit to Vietnam in July that there were 20 dossiers with the department responsible for international adoptions in Hanoi but they had not received a referral. When a bilateral agreement comes to an end, it is usual practice to allow pipeline cases to be finalised. We are working to find the correct mechanism to satisfy our laws and the Vietnamese on this matter.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Minister said facts disclosed in the ISS report, which is in draft form, are a cause for concern. In so far as those facts relate to the Vietnamese adoption process, why were none of them identified by the Irish Government long ago?

Under the bilateral agreement which concluded on 1 May 2009, joint working groups were to be established to monitor inter-country adoptions between Ireland and Vietnam. Apparently they never met to consider or identify in any detail the difficulties that will be disclosed in the ISS report.

Five reported visits were made by officials from the Department of Health and Children to Vietnam and they subsequently furnished reports to the Minister of State. Why are these reports suppressed and not published and made available to the Library?

With regard to the 20 approved cases, it was the understanding that an agreement had been reached with the Vietnamese authorities that would facilitate a child being placed with them. Will the Minister of State clarify the difficulty that has emerged in this regard?

Several individuals and couples have been deemed suitable to adopt in Ethiopia and have been in the process for three years. They are anxious to ensure the Adoption Bill contains suitable transition provisions to facilitate their completion of the process. They do not want the enactment of this legislation to put them back to the starting point in effecting their adoptions in Ethiopia. What will the Government do to address their concerns?

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Five visits were made to Vietnam in the past two years during which we endeavoured to get the most amount of information possible. The withdrawal of the US and Sweden from international adoptions this time last year caused us to visit Vietnam again. We have been very solicitous in trying to ensure the highest possible standards in adoptions apply between our two countries so as to provide reassurance to those who have already adopted. They are the people for whom I have much sympathy in this case.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Why did the joint working groups not function?

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Allow the Minister of State to answer the question.

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The effect of all these visits was to obtain all the information possible to allow us to make an informed decision. In the case of Vietnam, the effect of these withdrawals, including our own, has caused the Vietnamese Government to put far greater resources into the issue of bringing itself not only within the provisions of the Hague Convention but also to bring in new adoption legislation. Different personnel have been brought into this area.

Deputy Shatter mentioned Ethiopia and Russia. It is still our intention to seek a bilateral agreement with both of those countries. However, as the Deputy pointed out, from the date of the enactment of the adoption Bill, which will shortly go through this House, if a bilateral agreement is not in place, it will not be possible to effect an adoption from those countries. The adoption Bill will contain a provision on transitional arrangements. I have met our officials and advisers from the Attorney General's office to discuss those transitional arrangements, how far that process can go and what point one must have reached on the adoption process before one can be allowed to continue to completion, even though there is no bilateral agreement in place and the Bill would have been enacted.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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That concludes priority questions.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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On a point of order, I asked the Minister of State a question about why the joint working groups did not function.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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We have spent five minutes more than the time allocated on this question.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I presume the Minister of State would like to reply to that question.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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We have spent double the allocated time on this question.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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If the Minister of State does not reply to that question-----

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I call Question No. 83.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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It was grossly negligent of the Government to enter into a bilateral agreement and not ensure that the joint working groups put in place to ensure no difficulties arose over a five year period-----

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Deputy cannot make a Second Stage speech.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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-----did not function.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Deputy will resume his seat.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State has deliberately not addressed that issue. I have given him every opportunity to do so.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Deputy will resume his seat.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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It is outrageous that he has not done so.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I have allowed double the time allocated for this question. It is an abuse for the Deputy to disobey the Chair in the way he has just done. I ask him not to continue in that vein. I need to move on.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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It was an abuse for the Minister of State not to answer that question.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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As priority questions are confined to-----

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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There is a public interest in the answer to that question.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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-----the Deputy who tabled the question. In the interests of other Deputies who might want to ask questions, I want to move on to ordinary questions.