IRISH people hoping to regularise the adoption of Paraguayan children would be devastated by the Government decision to hold up the passing of the Adoption Bill, said Mr Joe O'Toole (Ind).
He was reacting to the announcement by House Leader, Mr Maurice Manning, that the Report Stage of the Bill would not, as previously planned, be taken today.
One of the net issues to be decided in the Bill was the question of a contact register, and as well as this a pending Supreme Court case would be material to the shaping of the Bill, explained Mr Manning.
The final stages of the measure should not be taken until the court had made its decision. A further difficulty was that a proposed opposition amendment relating to the Paraguayan Adoptions was unconstitutional in the view of the Attorney General and his office.
There were other possibilities which the Attorney General was examining, said Mr Manning. It was hoped that a resolution of the human problems involved could be found as a result of discussions now taking place.
Mr Manning pledged that on being returned to office the present Coalition Government would reinstate the Bill at Report Stage.
Fianna Fail leader, Mr G.V. Wright, said his party took a similar view on the need to progress this legislation.
Mr O'Toole emphasised that the present "legal mess" was causing heartbreak for a number of families. The suggested amendment to the Bill should be made, and if it needed to be changed in the light of events, this could be done by the incoming government. However, it was heartening to hear that the matter would be quickly taken on board by a new government.