Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

This has been a long and detailed debate. This Bill incorporates into Irish law the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. Since Ireland ratified that convention, 16 years have elapsed so we have waited a long time for the legislation. It is important that the Bill brings all aspects of legislation into line with the Hague Convention and brings us closer to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

When we are dealing with this area, the legislation before the House is just one aspect of adoption and huge issues arise on the implementation of the legislation, waiting lists for couples and the need for an agency other than the HSE to be involved. The Minister of State indicated that he would support this. During the debate we also raised important issues about guardianship, post-adoption services and the need for ongoing support for all involved in the adoption process.

A key issue that came up in the debate was that of bilateral agreements. At the conclusion of the debate, we are still in an unsatisfactory position as far as those agreements are concerned. Fine Gael had suggested a mechanism by which the Minister would have to come back to the Dáil or Seanad six months before the lapse of any bilateral agreement to inform the Houses about progress. If such a measure had been in place for the Vietnamese situation, there would have been discussion at an earlier point on the issue. It would have helped the Minister of State and I regret that he did not accept the amendment on that issue.

This Bill leaves the House with a degree of uncertainty about the bilateral agreements with Vietnam, Ethiopia and Russia. There is a great deal to be done by the Minister of State and the Department on these agreements, given the inter-country nature of the work. I hope the Minister of State is given the necessary resources. I have no doubt that the demand on departmental resources in regard to concluding these agreements is extensive. I hope progress will be reported on this issue when this legislation goes to the Dáil.

The Minister of State indicated that he would consider a range of amendments we put forward. He more or less accepted a number of potential amendments but did not bring forward similar amendments and I regret that. I am disappointed he did not do so but I hope they will be brought forward when the Bill is taken in the Dáil. They are useful and their inclusion would strengthen the legislation.

A number of areas are not addressed in the legislation. Given that we have had to wait 16 years for this legislation, to some degree, it deals with an era when adoption was dealt with somewhat differently. The issues about contact, ongoing contact and tracing are not dealt with. Given the changing face of adoption and the increasing number of inter-country adoptions, these issues will increase. The fact that there is no legislative base for many of them is problematic and needs to be addressed. One of the reasons some of these issues could not be addressed during this debate is that the amendment on the rights of the child was not brought forward by the Government. If it had been, we would be dealing with some provisions of the legislation in a different way.

I welcome the introduction of this Bill. I regret more amendments were not accepted during this debate but I acknowledge the willingness of the Minister of State to bring forward such amendments when the Bill is taken in the Dáil and l welcome his response to many of them.

I regret that the Minister of State briefed The Irish Times rather than this House on several aspects of the legislation. We have already had a long discussion on that matter today and I will not repeat it. There has been much debate recently on reform of this House. If the Seanad, as well as the Dáil and committees, is to be taken seriously, Opposition amendments must be accepted by the Government. Senator Wilson spoke in favour of an amendment tabled by this side of the House. I have had experience of the acceptance of Opposition amendments by some Ministers in committees over the years. It is a mark of maturity to accept and incorporate in legislation amendments from the other side of the House. That is what should happen in both Houses. It strengthens democracy and the work of this House and lends increased credibility to the Houses.

I look forward to seeing what further amendments the Minister of State will bring forward when the Bill is taken in the Dáil. I thank his officials for the time, energy and effort they put into preparing this legislation. I hope they have success in concluding the bilateral agreements, which are of importance to many people and are a cause of great concern and deep emotional upset to families currently caught in this situation.