Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I will look at the question, but let us talk about the best interests of the child. We are talking here about a child who has already spent five years in the care of a foster parent. Therefore the court has taken the view, either with the consent of the person who surrendered the child into care or having looked at all the circumstances in the light of a care order under section 18, that in its best interests the foster parents should now be able to make decisions in respect of the child. Then there is a care plan. The child is in the care of the State and supervision by the Health Service Executive, HSE, remains on foot of this. Now we are saying that we should foment litigation involving a remoter party to this particular transaction. I do not believe this is in the best interests of the child. Finality must be brought to the child's attachment as well, and that is a fundamental issue in legislation of this type.

That said, I am willing to look at the issues. Senator Tuffy has raised a fair point to the effect that while the legislation speaks of parents, under the Constitution and otherwise, and therefore has not been influenced by any social attitude or assumption since the time of its enactment in 1992, it does not deal with the question of guardians, and they have legal rights. These are not dealt with in the legislation in express terms, and there are other issues of that type which I am certainly willing to examine.