Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

Many of us over the weekend were touched by the very poignant circumstances in which a three year old child with an Irish passport wound up in an Indonesian orphanage. I would like the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Brian Lenihan, to examine this case and, if possible, to at least send a social worker to Indonesia to find out what is happening. We should remember that many children have been adopted in Ireland and the abandonment of this child in a country whose language he does not speak casts a certain cloud over the area of adoption. Nobody could be anything other than touched by the photographs of this child in the newspapers. We should demonstrate our compassion as a nation by investigating and attempting to resolve his situation. There must be loving parents out there who would welcome the opportunity to adopt this child. I am aware it is a delicate situation but I hope it can be investigated and resolved.