The Adoption Bill 2009 and inter-country adoption

The Adoption Bill completed its passage through Dail Eireann on Wednesday 29th June and after passing through the Seanad was signed into law by the President in July.

The Bill will not come into force until formal Ministerial Orders are made and administrative arrangements put in place to change the Adoption Board into the Adoption Authority with the appointment of the appropriate persons to that Authority. The likely commencement date for the Bill i.e. the date on which it will come into force, is the 1st October 2010. Until that date the current law continues to apply.

The coming into force of the Bill will give effect to the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption in the State. (more…)

Lucinda today (Wednesday) described the attack on members of An Garda Siochana at the gates of Leinster House as brutish, anti-democratic and profoundly unhelpful. She condemned the actions of protesters who tried to “storm” the buildings of parliament and said that such behaviour does not reflect the desires of the majority of the people.

“Everyone is entitled to peaceful protest and in fact yesterday’s protesters were facilitated in every way by members of the Gardai, who escorted them from Parnell Square to Leinster House. However, it is clear from looking at the footage of yesterday’s events, that the intention of some was not peaceful protest, but rather a violent storming of Leinster House.”

“Yesterday’s events amounted to a sad reflection on the small numbers of protesters who tried to barge through the Gardai at the gates of Leinster House. Their behaviour was aggressive, brutish and truly regrettable. (more…)

As the Adoption Bill has been making its way through the legislative procedure, Fine Gael has been pushing the Government to include transitional arrangements for inter-country adoptions, so that those who have already been assessed for foreign adoption are not left in limbo.

Lucinda has had a number of meetings with couples affected by the changes in the adoption process, especially those who had hoped to adopt under bi-lateral agreements with Vietnam, Russia and Ethiopia who now find themselves left in limbo, and she fully supports them in the campaign for an equitable solution that recognises the long and arduous process they have been through in the hope of adopting.

The Health and Children Committee is presently processing the Committee Stage of the Adoption Bill 2009. Various amendments to the Bill including an amendment with regard to providing for transitional arrangements in respect of inter-country adoption have been tabled by Fine Gael.

In particular, Alan Shatter TD, Fine Gael Spokesperson on Children has proposed an amendment which would allow those already in the adoption system to continue with the process: (more…)

January 27th 2010

I am pleased to have an opportunity to address the House on this important and long overdue legislation. I support the Bill. Like Deputy Varadkar, I lament the exclusion of heterosexual cohabiting people from the civil partnership provisions of this legislation, which I believe to be a mistake. I urge the Government to at some point reconsider this matter. While I accept that it may not be possible to address this issue on Committee Stage, perhaps it could be done at a later stage in the lifetime of this Government.

It is often tempting and easy for the Legislature to shroud itself in an air of fantasy and to ignore the reality of a modern evolving society and to refuse to acknowledge the changing environment in which we live. (more…)

It is with a heavy heart and some regret that I must debate this report in the Chamber. It really is difficult to respond to an 800-page report that gives a detailed account of the most monstrous, heinous and systematic abuse of children. It is particularly difficult to find words to respond in a short slot in the debate. However, there are a few points I want to put on the record.

It is important when contributing to this debate that we be mindful at all stages of the survivors of the abuse. It is important to refer to those affected directly by institutional abuse as survivors rather than victims because they want to find solace and strength on foot of the revelations and find a way forward so they can recover and get on with their lives. (more…)