asked the Minister for Justice if, in view of the Supreme Court decision and in the interests of all adoptive parents, he will make a statement on the general position obtaining now regarding adoption.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Child Adoption.
8.
I indicated in a public statement on 8th June, 1976, that it is proposed to introduce a Bill to amend the Adoption Acts.
I am hopeful that it will be possible to circulate the Bill this week but, as Deputies will appreciate, it is a complex matter which requires a great deal of consideration and it may not be possible to meet this target.
I thank the Minister for that information. On the other hand, the Minister will accept that the statement to which he referred did, in some way, heighten the anguish, anxiety and expectancy of the adoptive parents in question, and that that makes it all the more urgent that he should now indicate to them, if at all possible, the precise date on which the Bill will be introduced.
First of all, I take issue with the Deputy's statement that the statement issued by me should have heightened the anguish adoptive parents are experiencing. There is certainly nothing in the statement that might indicate that. I do concede that it might have raised expectations of early legislation. It is my ambition to have legislation at the very earliest possible moment. I have not ruled out that it may be possible to have it this week and that the timetable I had tentatively hoped for of tomorrow might still be achieved. But I want to emphasise to the House that this is a complex matter. It is only when one goes to draft a piece of legislation designed to provide the reassurances that people are expecting that the complexities manifest themselves. We are not legislating, if you like, for a specific case. We want to legislate to cover all possible eventualities no matter how remote that might arise in the future and that does raise very serious and difficult issues. Much preliminary work has been done. I did not want to mislead the House by saying positively that it will be available this evening for debate tomorrow. It is my hope that it will. But it is possible that, in the detailed analysis of the problem, an unforeseen difficulty may still arise and it may be that we will have to postpone it. Again, there is no point in bringing in legislation to cure a situation if that legislation itself should subsequently turn out to be unsatisfactory. I sympathise with people who are worried about this. I want to reassure them again that this legislation is designed to remove all worries.
Would the Minister give an assurance to the House that he will marshal all the forces at his disposal so that it will, if at all possible, be introduced tomorrow? Failing that, could the Minister then say —having regard to the information with which he is privileged—that, if not tomorrow, it would be, say, next Tuesday at the very latest?
I would be very confident that it would be next Tuesday at the very latest but I certainly have not ruled out tomorrow. The Deputy has my assurance that all resources at my command are working on this matter. Certainly, I could bring in a Bill tomorrow but I do not want to bring it in until I am satisfied that it is the Bill to meet the need.
The Taoiseach conveyed to the House yesterday that the Bill would be through the House before the recess. Is the Minister in a position to stand over that commitment?
Yes, certainly the Bill will be through the House before the recess. If the Bill is introduced tomorrow or at the latest next Tuesday, I do not see any reason why it would not be through the House before the recess.
Would the Minister confirm that once the Government have indicated they are going to do this—and they are going to have the support of all sides of the House— anybody who might have any worries can be absolutely assured from this point on and that, if necessary, the Minister will make the provisions of the Bill retrospective?
I can assure the Deputy and the House that the intention of the Bill is to ensure that, in view of the unusual combination of circumstances that arose unexpectedly in a particular case, should analogous or other unusual circumstances arise in any other case in respect of any other adoption order it will not have the effect that this particular set of circumstances had. I want to reassure adoptive parents that their adoptions are safe.
Could the Minister say whether there is still a possibility that the Bill might be circulated late this evening?
There is a very live possibility.