Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

I move amendment No. 54:

In page 31, line 7, after "them" to insert the following:

"(or either of them, if a failure by one only of the married couple to comply with this section would not seriously threaten the welfare of the child)".

I am proposing to amend the wording of section 34, which currently provides that an adoption order shall not be made "unless the Authority is satisfied that the applicant or, if the applicants are a married couple living together, each of them ... is a suitable person". The applicants need to have enough money, etc. The various requirements, which are listed in section 34, include the requirement to support "the child's development" and the requirement to value the child's "ethnic, religious and cultural background" and identity, etc. Amendment No. 54 proposes that it should not be necessary for both parents to tick all of the boxes listed in this section of the Bill. In other words, I suggest it should suffice for each requirement to be met by one parent or the other - both parents should not have to meet all of the requirements.

I have proposed amendment No. 55 because I am particularly concerned that the test should not be as strongly applied if "a natural parent or relative of the child" is applying to adopt the child as it would be if a complete stranger were applying to adopt the child. If a mother is adopting her own child, or a grandparent is adopting his or her own grandchild, she or he should not be refused simply because she or he might not have "adequate financial means", for example. In other words, the test should not be too broad or rigorous in the case of an adoption by a natural parent, grandparent or other relation. In such circumstances, these tests should not be as strong as they are for other types of adoptions. That is basically what I am trying to achieve in these amendments. We had a good discussion on them on Committee Stage. There seemed to be a general acceptance that the test should not be quite as demanding when those applying to adopt are directly related to the child.

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