Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Connolly for raising this important matter. He correctly raised the question of those who have adopted children from Vietnam and those who intend adopting from that country. I assure him no issue arises concerning the validity of adoptions which have already taken place. They are in order and I will explain the reason. Moreover, as far as prospective adoptions are concerned, arrangements are in place to continue with adoptions from Vietnam.

The Deputy was critical of the approach of the Irish Adoption Board. The board is an independent statutory body headed by a former judge of the District Court. It is a quasi-judicial body which exercises its functions in an independent way. I was glad the Deputy acknowledged the important confidentiality which must attach to the proceedings of the Irish Adoption Board. In light of the fact that a delegation headed by the chief executive of the board returned from Vietnam today, the Deputy's decision to raise this matter is timely because I am now in a position to furnish the House with up-to-date information on the issue.

In accordance with the Adoption Act 1991, a person or persons who are resident in Ireland and wish to adopt a child from another country must apply for a declaration of eligibility and suitability. Such declarations are issued by the Adoption Board. The application must be made through their local Health Service Executive office or adoption society. The applicant or applicants are then assessed by the Health Service Executive or adoption society in line with the standardised framework for inter-country adoption assessment to have their eligibility and suitability established. The assessment process involves a number of stages and the length of the process can vary between applicants depending on the particular circumstances of each case, bearing in mind at all times that the paramount consideration is the best interests of the child.

Vietnam has become a popular country of choice for Irish couples wishing to adopt. Until 1999 only two children had been adopted from Vietnam to Ireland, with a further 104 adopted up to the end of 2002. Vietnam suspended all adoptions with effect from 1 January 2003 to countries which did not have in place a bilateral agreement on adoption. To continue adoptions to Ireland from Vietnam, a bilateral agreement on adoption was agreed in March 2003 following negotiations in Hanoi between both countries. I salute the staff of the Adoption Board and Ambassador Mulhall who did Trojan work to secure this agreement, which is in line with the principles of Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption.

Following the ratification of the agreement, adoptions recommenced from Vietnam on 6 July 2004. Since then 143 adoptions have taken place and a further 87 applications are awaiting a referral from the Vietnamese authorities. Part of the agreement is that Ireland would establish a mediation agency to facilitate Irish applicants with adoptions in Vietnam. In April 2006 both the Adoption Board and the Vietnamese Government licensed Helping Hands adoption mediation agency to facilitate adoptions under the adoption agreement.

For many years, I have been concerned in connection with overseas adoptions that Ireland did not have a mediation agency in place. Strict rules are in place regarding those who can adopt. As I outlined, the necessary declarations must be obtained from the Adoption Board and the necessary courses of preparation must be done with an adoption society or the Health Service Executive. Our assessment of the suitability of those who wish to adopt overseas is way ahead of most jurisdictions in the world. We do not, however, regulate the procedures in place in the country in which adoptions are sought. It was for this reason that I raised with the Adoption Board, on my appointment as a Minister, the question of the recognition of an agency which would facilitate the recognition of adoptions and arrangements for adoptions in the country in which the adoption is sought.

The Helping Hands adoption mediation agency is the first such agency established in this jurisdiction. It supports applicants through the adoption process during what is, inevitably, a stressful and unfamiliar but important life event for them. Helping Hands also ensures that adoptions are carried out in conformity with Irish and Vietnamese legal requirements.

The Deputy pointed out that certain anonymous allegations were made against an individual who was involved in the adoption process on the Vietnam side. Full checks were made on the individual in question prior to her appointment by the agency and these turned out to be negative. The Deputy stated that a simple telephone call to a particular place in the United States would rectify the matter, but in fact the initial inquiries did not put the position right and misled the authorities here on the matter.

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