Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I recognise that amendment No. 3 has been ruled out of order. At this point, I would like to reserve the right to reintroduce further amendments in respect of this area on Report Stage. This area touches on and is complementary to some of the other amendments which were raised by Senator Warfield, and I recognise he has withdrawn his amendments.

Having campaigned very passionately on the children's rights referendum, I very much support the Children and Family Relationships Act. The key point being discussed in these amendments is the importance of recognising the full diversity of relationships which a child should have. It is a cross-cutting point. We will come later to the question of open adoption but there is also the question of how we ensure we are really putting forward the best interests of the child. I recognise the valuable role of this Bill in producing security and continuity, and allowing for adoption in many circumstances where it is valuable for the child. However, the child also has a diversity of relationships, not just with the birth parents but with the wider family, for example, the siblings they may have and the grandparents. We are aware that, in many cases, it may be difficult for grandparents to either foster or adopt due to constraints such as age and circumstance, so it is very important that the diversity of relationships be maintained.

I know this is very strongly felt by many organisations which work on a voluntary basis across such cases in Ireland. We see voluntary arrangements being put in place between new adoptive parents and former birth parents but they have no legal status or security. Moreover, in what I believe is an omission, they are not reflected in the Bill due to the constraints of our current model of adoption, which is very much a zero-sum model and one I do not believe serves the wider best interests of the child. I believe this Bill is and should be the opportunity to develop a genuinely strong network of relationships for the child to ensure that possibility exists.

I also want to speak about a contact plan being put in place, potentially not just at the point of adoption, but perhaps at a later stage.Later we will discuss the fact that circumstances can change. A birth parent who is not in a position to be a primary carer or who may no longer be in a position to parent might nonetheless arrive at a position of having the capacity to have a meaningful relationship with the child. How is that to be facilitated? At present, there is something of a limbo post-adoption in Ireland. My proposals certainly do not seek to impose anything but they would be amenable to all parties and could be requested by all parties, but only with the agreement of all parties. I urge the Minister in the period between now and Report Stage to work with us on finding ways in which we can ensure that type of contact plan, which Barnardos and other organisations have made clear are informally in place in many cases, would have some meaningful legal basis and would be recognised, supported and, if necessary, given resources.

It might be my reference to resources that led to my amendment being ruled out of order, so I will probably remove that reference on Report Stage. However, as I am sure the Minister will acknowledge, resources are necessary. There are provisions and informal mechanisms which have allowed meaningful contact, even with birth parents who are not in a position to act as primary carers. Again, siblings are another key concern, as are half-siblings, cousins and the wide network that makes up a child's universe, particularly in cases where children are moving from a family perhaps into foster care and have already experienced a childhood with another family. The deep issue we must consider in Ireland, and I will reach it under my later amendments so I will not go into detail on it now, is recognising that we can be open and loving in terms of complexity yet still ensure security. We must move past a drive towards a very simple narrative of the family unit, which has led to some very poor practices in the past.