Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

I support the motion tabled by Senator Mullen and congratulate him on raising this very important issue. Without being party-political, I must state that it is a very serious issue that is having a major impact in countries such as China and India. It is important that we, as a branch of the Oireachtas, express our deep concern over the issues at play.

From time to time, this House condemns China for its lack of transparency in the administration of justice. Members have visited China on several occasions to outline its appalling record on human rights. There is a total vacuum, particularly in China and to a lesser extent in India, whereby female children are treated as less important than their male counterparts. In 2020, there will be 40 million to 50 million more males in China than females. This imbalance is creating a problem. The recent case in China, namely, the running over of a little girl, is an appalling indictment of how society thinks in other parts of the world.

With all due respect to the Government, its amendment is pussyfooting and tiptoeing around the real issue. The Parliament and nation should condemn the practice in question. Senator Mullen has appropriately named it "gendercide", or at least outlined his reasons therefor. We should condemn such practices in China, India and elsewhere and we should not be afraid of stepping on toes politically. It is a major issue. We debate poverty in various parts of the world and support efforts to combat it but, if we are serious about our foreign policy, we should state bluntly that the practice of gendercide in its many forms is wrong. We cannot condone it.

Senator Mullen's motion is one on which the House should try not to divide, including by saying more time is required, as said by some Government speakers. The case made by Senator Mullen is so blatant and strong that we should accept his motion. The Government should support it absolutely. The facts are clear and it is most regrettable that in certain parts of the world an abortion or other procedure may be carried out where a woman is discovered to be pregnant with a female child. A child, when born, may be neglected and left to starve to death. This is a very serious issue. Senator Mullen must be lauded for his exposure of gendercide, which is widespread in China in particular.

I know the Minister of State's heart is in the right place. I urge her to grasp the nettle and condemn the practice outright. There is no harm in doing so. Let us see what we, as a small nation, can do to address it. There are probably 5,000 couples in Ireland who are dying to adopt a child from another country. I was once in Romania with a member of my family in respect of an adoption. There are ways and means of trying to address this issue. For us to stand idly by is most regressive. I listened to a radio debate today in which it was stated that, by the end of this or next month, the world's population will be 7 billion and rising. Not so long ago, I heard that the population in 1830 was approximately 1.5 billion. At the rate the population is growing, we will face serious problems. The most populated regions, such as China, India, eastern Asia and Indonesia, probably contain one third of the world's population in a relatively small proportion of the world.

It is about time that we grasped the nettle, tried to address the problem and made our voices heard. Senator Mullen must be complimented for raising this appropriate issue. I hope the Government will state that it is not a political issue and regard the motion as a statement by a small country setting out its views on gendercide. We speak very strongly about injustices in China and poverty in Africa but we are very slow to grasp the nettle in respect of gendercide. Senator Mullen deserves great credit for raising it. His doing so is appropriate and I hope the Government will address the matter head on instead of deferring it.