Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

Senators speaking about outsourcing could be rather dangerous at the moment as we could be outsourced ourselves. I was interested in what was said by Senator Mary White. When all this legislation goes through this House and the other House we should aspire to have a process in place of the highest standards that would be expedited in an appropriate fashion. People should not see an endless queue or list.

Mention was made of section 37 and I am advised that we can drift in and out of the sections because the amendments cover several of them. The Minister of State mentioned section 37, in which the language states, "As soon as practicable after the Health Service Executive receives an application" it shall do the following. Although it looks fine in print and the term "as soon as practicable" has been in law over recent years, the term often results in these very lengthy delays.

It would be great if we could have some time limit or obligation on the authorities either to have the assessments done themselves or to be in a position to outsource, if we are to use that sometimes politically incorrect word, to get the job done. Prospective adoptive parents only have one request — I will not say it is a demand because they are not generally demanding people — which is to have the assessment completed and their suitability or otherwise decided upon.

As Senator Mary White has said, it would be a great afternoon's work for the Seanad if we could be in a position to know, at the end of our deliberations, that there would be real progress on the time issue. There may be many ways of responding to that concern of ours and it could be a question of having more staff at HSE level or more time being allocated. What has been in place to date does not seem to be working as well as we would wish.

The Minister of State has mentioned that we hear stories from various parts of the country, with some of them right and some wrong. From our own constituency work we hear claims of delays in one area and greater levels of progress in others. That would need to be improved as soon as possible.

In his contribution, the Minister of State spoke of the need to be thorough in the way assessments are done and we all support that. Will the Minister of State try to put in place some sort of timeframe, either by legislation or directive, or is this practical or possible? It is certainly desirable to set some sort of bar for us, the legislators, and there should be a reasonable timeframe for people seeking to have the assessments carried out. It is only the first step and the people should have a clear picture of a reasonable timeframe.

All of us on every side of the House are at one in our general support of the Bill but we are also at one in our desire to try to expedite matters. Senator Alex White spoke earlier of the process lasting three or four years but in speaking of the number of hours that became part of that three or four-year delay, it is not a question of six or 12 months' work. Senator White indicated it might be 30 to 40 hours of serious work and attention. I can see that it is better for that 30 or 40 hours of work not to take place over a three-week or three-month timeframe but it should not take three years to process that 30 or 40 hours of work. I am not trying to reduce the intensity and seriousness of those hours of professional input but it should not be beyond our collective abilities to put in place a system that works slightly more quickly and equally well.

We all would agree that the result of every assessment done over the course of previous years was correct but it is disappointing they have taken so long. We must aspire to progress in expediting this. The term "as far as practicable" is fine in print but what it does it mean in practice? The Minister of State should try to set some reasonable time limits and if those cannot be met under the present HSE-centred structure, it should be possible to use additional support.

I am interested in the Minister of State's comment that he has received queries or representations and he is at least reflecting on the possibility of giving some degree of discretion for outside agencies or not-for-profit organisations to be involved in the process. We look forward to the Minister of State's further deliberations on this as part of an effort to explore assessment issues.