Mr. Kiernan Gildea:

Two of them are over €25,000 so they are e-tendered. The other, which is under €25,000, has also been tendered. There was a question regarding the timeframe for declarations of eligibility and suitability. When we get them from the Child and Family Agency, the turnaround time is approximately four to six weeks, although assessment takes longer. The date from such time to adoption is an unknown figure which can be anything from two years to seven years, as it is with China. That is where a declaration of three years is quite useless, and we have recommended five years as being a best option. It is impossible to indicate the number of illegal registrations. There are 100 applications on the national contact preference register for those people lucky enough to know they have a birth certificate but that they were not adopted. There must be many thousands out there in that position who may not even know they are not adopted and their registration is illegal or irregular.

There was a question about outsourcing. There are 14 accredited bodies providing approximately four services. Most attention turns on those which provide facilitation for inter-country adoption; there were three of those and we are now down to two. We are required to set fees and the major challenge is the issue of State funding. These bodies are in constant regular negotiations, virtually on a weekly basis, with the Department to establish a clear, rigorous and long-term solution with regard to State funding. Ireland has two of these involved with inter-country adoption, but Italy, for example, has 69 bodies. The notion of an accredited body facilitating an adoption is best practice. There is a cost, but Ireland would be unique if it did not provide State funding in some way or fashion in this regard. There are tax benefits, credits and grants in many other countries, and Luxembourg goes as far as providing a free service from start to finish. We are not in that position. Accredited bodies need State funding and the two which exist for facilitating inter-country adoptions currently get €10,000 per month, which is only guaranteed until the end of this month. They do not know what the position will be next month and we do not know what the costs or charges will be. Prospective adoptive parents are in the worst position because they would not know their expected costs either.

Ms Loftus may be able to assist on the issue of those in care, although we really only have anecdotal evidence.