Jim McDaid (Donegal North East, Independent)
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Question 88: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the way the bilateral adoption agreement between Ireland and Vietnam is progressing in view of the fact that this agreement was meant to be renegotiated and strengthened in early December 2008. [8076/09]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 90: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her views in relation to a submission (details supplied); when a decision is due in regard to the proposed agreement; the plans in place in relation to the closure of the present agreement on 1 May 2009 to address the position of applicants who have commenced applications prior to that date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8113/09]

Niall Collins (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 98: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the progress on a matter (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8141/09]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 108: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the steps being taken to renew the bilateral adoption agreement between Ireland and Vietnam, which is due to cease on 1 May 2009; if steps will be taken to expedite the renewal of the agreement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8203/09]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 88, 90, 98 and 108 together.

The Irish Government formally notified the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in October last that there would be no automatic renewal of the Agreement when the five year term expires on 1 May, 2009. While Ireland's current agreement is based on Hague principles, there is a need to elaborate the Agreement to reflect the standards of the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption more comprehensively. This is in line with Ireland's own commitment to ratify the Hague Convention. It is also relevant to reflect the experiences gained by both sides over the first five years of a formal relationship between the two States.

This approach is also part of the preparations for new adoption legislation in which it is proposed that a bilateral agreement will be required between Ireland and any State which has not ratified the Hague Convention. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has not yet ratified the Convention. Officials travelled to Vietnam in November, 2008 to meet with the relevant authorities dealing with intercountry adoption as well as the embassies of other governments to discuss intercountry adoption in Vietnam and progress towards ratification more generally.

In December 2008, following a Government decision on the matter, the Irish Government issued a formal request to the Vietnamese Authorities advising that the Government wished to enter into discussions immediately for the purpose of negotiating a new bilateral adoption Agreement to follow on from the existing Agreement. In order to expedite the negotiation process, Ireland offered to provide the Vietnamese Authorities with the text of a draft agreement as a basis for negotiations. The Vietnamese authorities responded positively to Ireland's request to enter into formal negotiations and the proposal that Ireland would prepare a first draft.

Work on a draft agreement requires careful and detailed consideration by a number of parties including the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Attorney General's Office and the Adoption Board. An initial text was prepared by my Office in December and the draft is now at an advanced stage. It will be finalised shortly once legal advices have been received on outstanding matters. It is anticipated that this will be forwarded to the Vietnamese Authorities for their consideration in the immediate future.

The issue of contingency arrangements in the case of an Agreement not being reached by 1 May, 2009 was raised by the Government in a December 2008 communication to the Vietnamese. The Vietnamese authorities formally advised on proposed contingency arrangements on Friday, 13 February, through the Irish Embassy in Hanoi. My Office subsequently prepared and circulated a public information note on the contingency plans to prospective adoptive parents through the Helping Hands Adoption Mediation Agency and the adoption support groups. I want to emphasise that these are contingency plans in the event of an Agreement not being reached by 1 May 2009. My officials and I are continuing to pursue the successful conclusion of a bilateral agreement with Vietnam as a priority. The Irish government will continue to seek to re-visit the contingency arrangements which have been put in place over the course of and in light of negotiations on a new agreement.

I feel obliged to remind the House that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a sovereign state and decisions it makes regarding the internal regulation and management of the adoption of its children must be treated sensitively as appropriate to a sovereign state. I respectfully suggest that demands for guarantees or changes to contingency arrangements are matters which fall to be dealt with as part of the negotiation process on a bilateral basis. At this stage, I cannot pre-empt either Governments' deliberative process as those negotiations advance. My priority is to advance the process and avoid debate outside of that process which could potentially jeopardise or interfere with discussions with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

I can assure the Deputies that the work to prepare for and advise the Government on this issue and to implement the Government's decisions has been given, and continues to be given the highest priority. These are complex matters which require careful consideration. At all times, the Government, and I, and the officials advising us, are guided by the need to respect and protect the best interests and rights of the child.