Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am not in disagreement with much of what the Senators have put forward, and particularly what Senator Higgins has just articulated. It is important that we acknowledge fully the child's right to relationship. However, an ad hoc system is inadequate. I am not accepting these amendments now. The various amendments refer to voluntary contact plans and the need to put them into legislation. We cannot do that now. Before that we must engage in a full review of adoption policy, particularly with regard to open adoption, what open adoption means, the nature of the contact plans that would enable us to implement open adoption or semi-open adoption and so forth. While I do not disagree with much of what the Senator has said my argument is that it is not appropriate or good law to offer a major policy change now and put that into a statute, particularly an adoption amendment Bill, in an ad hoc way, which is what the various amendments are attempting to do, without a full review of adoption policy. That is as pithy as I can be in responding to the arguments the Senator put forward.