Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I remind Senators that we are in a very sensitive period in negotiating this agreement with Vietnam. My experience is that such a measure as proposed in the amendment would not be helpful in negotiating an agreement with another party. I would like to say many things about how we are trying to conclude this agreement at the moment. However, it is a very sensitive time. We are approaching this particular deadline. I know people want to be completely reassured that we will be successful in negotiation with another country. I cannot give that reassurance. It would be wrong for me to give anybody false hope in that regard.

I assure people that we are very keen to have an agreement. Staff from both the Adoption Authority of Ireland and the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs are being sent out to negotiate this face to face with the Vietnamese. It had been my intention that they would go out sooner -as soon as possible. That is a matter that is in flux. As Senators will understand, from time to time these matters are not always nailed down completely. That needs to be agreed upon as well. We are very keen to do that. I do not believe we have dragged our heels in any way on this issue. It is very sensitive and the core principle is the protection of children. We want to upgrade the old agreement and stitch into it new elements that are essential to the Hague Convention. I would like to tell Senators more about it but I am afraid it would be misconstrued.

Until we get through this period, it is as far as I can go to ask Senators to take my reassurance that we are putting in every effort in. We are very conscious of the sensitivities involved for prospective adoptive parents. We are making every effort to do that and we are informed by the principles of the Hague Convention. We want to get it done. There are other issues we need to settle. There are certain times in the negotiation of international agreements when it is better to allow the Government plenipotentiary powers, as it were, to do that job on the basis of trust that it will do the best job.