Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 62:

In page 91, subsection (4)(b), lines 23 and 24, to delete "with the prior approval of the Authority".

There is some concern about this and it is a very delicate area. I am interested to hear what the Minister of State will say about it. Some of the international organisations felt that their fund-raising would be interfered with if this section contained the words: "with the prior approval of the Authority". It is a delicate issue because one does not want advertising put into the Bill that would suggest there is a market in respect of children or adoption. The concern expressed by the organisations was that straightforward fund-raising might be interfered with by having this section included. They made the point that if other voluntary organisations such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the ISPCC or Barnardos were restricted in this way, they might not be able to get on with their work. The amendment addresses the anxiety that the normal fund-raising a voluntary body might engage in would be interfered with unnecessarily. Perhaps the Minister of State might say whether this is a genuine concern or he might tell us there is adequate opportunity within the Bill for bodies to engage in legitimate fund-raising. The concern expressed was that this right might be taken away.