Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

The adoption authority will not be involved in the appointment of guardians and this Bill does not provide for the appointment of a guardian to a child. Section 17, which deals with placement, provides that the appointment of a guardian is done by way of an application under section 6A or section 11(4) of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964. Otherwise, as set out in section 3 of this Bill, a guardian may be appointed by deed or will or by order of a court in this State. As such, the appointment of a guardian is outside the scope of the Bill.

Amendment No. 99 is a matter for the 1964 act, which is under the aegis of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Guardianship in the Adoption Bill arises in the context of consent required for adoption. If the natural father is a guardian, his consent is required before a child can be placed for adoption or an adoption order can be made.

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