Derek McDowell (Labour)

I wish to say a final word on the matter. I will not revisit the issue with Senator Walsh. There is another point that should be made. Foreign adoption as an option is really only available to people who have some measure of means. It is in most cases pretty expensive although most of that expense is not something that is imposed by this country or has anything to do with it, good, bad or indifferent; it is imposed by the authorities in the country where the adoption is taking place. Foreign adoption is a significant financial burden. We have a responsibility to do what little we can to ensure that childless couples wishing to adopt abroad and who are not as moneyed as those who currently do so, will have some little benefit conferred upon them. At the very least we should not actively put hurdles in their path.

It will come as no surprise to the Minister that I disagree with him about imposing the cost on employers. We should not become bogged down on this issue now. When an employer takes on an employee, he does not just take on the responsibility of paying for work done; it is a longer and more complicated contract than that. That is what the panoply of our welfare legislation for the past 30 years is all about. The Minister and I would disagree on that and certainly on how the cost should be imposed, but that is not really the point.

The central thrust of Senator Terry's amendment should not be lost. Adoptive parents or putative adoptive parents should at least be entitled to time off, at the very least on unpaid leave. I urge the Minister to consider this proposal between now and Report Stage and before it comes before the Dáil.