Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 320: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if the bilateral agreement for the purpose of adoption between Ireland and Vietnam will be reviewed after 30 April 2009 when it expires; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48005/08]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 330: To ask the Minister for Health and Children when the bilateral agreement with Vietnam to facilitate the adoption of children by Irish families will be renewed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1745/09]

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 333: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if the bilateral agreement for the purpose of adoption between Ireland and Vietnam will be renewed when it expires on 30 April 2009; if there has been significant dialogue between her Department and the Vietnamese government in respect of this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2233/09]

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 335: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if, in view of the many prospective adoptive parents who have selected Vietnam as their preferred country for adoption and the 1 May 2009 expiry date of the bilateral adoption agreement with Vietnam, she will ensure that an interim agreement is in place pending amendments required under the Hague Convention; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2601/09]

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 344: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if the bilateral agreement for the purpose of adoption between Ireland and Vietnam will be renewed in 2009; if her attention has been drawn to the concerns that prospective adoptive parents have on same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47912/08]

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 351: To ask the Minister for Health and Children, further to Parliamentary Question No. 211 of 16 December 2008, the progress that has been made in regard to a new bilateral agreement in relation to adoption between Ireland and Vietnam; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48034/08]

Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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Question 354: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the steps she is taking to renegotiate the bilateral agreement for the purposes of adoption between Ireland and Vietnam which expires on 30 April 2009; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48056/08]

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 381: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will ensure that when the bilateral agreement in relation to adoption between Ireland and Vietnam lapses at the end of April 2009 a new agreement will immediately take effect; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1099/09]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 382: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the progress being made to ensure that a bilateral adoption agreement between Ireland and Vietnam will remain in place beyond the expiry of the current agreement in April 2009. [1109/09]

John Cregan (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 442: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if the new bilateral agreement with Vietnam will be in place before the existing agreement expires on 30 April 2009; if not, if there will be some sort of roll-over agreement in place to ensure that people wishing to adopt children are not adversely effected; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1537/09]

Niall Collins (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 451: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the status of an agreement (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1628/09]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 454: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the position regarding the renewal of the bilateral agreement for the purposes of inter-country adoptions between Ireland and Vietnam; if she will confirm that there are ongoing discussions between the respective departments of public health; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1650/09]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 536: To ask the Minister for Health and Children, further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 227, 253 and 265 of 17 December 2008, if she has received a response from the Vietnamese authorities in relation to negotiating a new adoption agreement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2462/09]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 320, 330, 333, 335, 344, 351, 354, 381, 382, 442, 451, 454 and 536 together.

As the Deputies will be aware, the Adoption Bill, 2009, which will give force of law to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, was published on Friday 23rd January. Under the new legislation, prospective adoptive parents will be able to adopt from countries which have also ratified the Hague Convention, and countries with which Ireland has a bilateral agreement which meets Hague standards.

While it is true to say that our current Agreement with Vietnam is based on Hague principles, as part of the preparations for our new legislation we need to ensure that our Agreement reflects the Hague Convention as comprehensively as possible. A new Agreement allows the opportunity to elaborate and strengthen some existing provisions to meet the standards which it is anticipated will be set in draft legislation. There have been considerable developments in intercountry adoption in Vietnam since the Agreement was signed 5 years ago. This progress also needs to be reflected in any new Agreement.

There is a clause in the current Agreement which states that the Agreement will be automatically extended for another 5 year term unless one State notifies the other State to the contrary. Because of the changes to our adoption legislation, the Agreement cannot 'roll over' in its present form for another 5 years. As a result, the Irish Government was obliged to formally notify Vietnam that there can be no automatic renewal of the Agreement when the five year term expires on 1 May, 2009.

I am aware of the concerns of those parents who have already adopted and those who hope to adopt from Vietnam in the future. I would like to assure the Deputy that officials from my Office and the Adoption Board have been continuously monitoring the situation and liaising closely with colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs and our embassy in Hanoi over recent months. In November, a senior official from my Office led a delegation to Vietnam accompanied by the Chairman and CEO of the Adoption Board. While the purpose of this visit was to commence discussions with the Vietnamese Authorities on the possible renegotiation of the Agreement, the delegation also availed of the opportunity to meet with officials from various embassies and with UNICEF to discuss the their views on intercountry adoption from Vietnam.

On foot of this visit to Vietnam, the Irish Government issued a formal request to the Vietnamese Authorities stating that we wish to enter into discussions immediately for the purpose of negotiating a new Agreement to follow on from the existing Agreement. The Vietnamese Authorities have responded positively to Ireland's request.

Ireland offered to provide the Vietnamese Authorities with the text of a draft agreement as a basis for negotiations. An initial draft was prepared by my officials and was submitted to colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney General's Office for their consideration in December 2008.

At present, the text of the draft is being finalised following the receipt of legal advices. Once the text of the draft has been agreed between the OMCYA, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney General's Office it will be forwarded to the Vietnamese Authorities for their consideration. It is anticipated that we will be in a position to forward this draft to Vietnam shortly.

The work to prepare for and advise the Government on this issue and the implementation of Government's decisions is being given the highest priority. These are complex matters which require careful consideration. At all times, the Minister and the Government, and officials advising them, are guided by the need to respect and protect the best interests and rights of the child.