Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise the issue of inter-country adoptions between Ireland and Ethiopia. I refer to the difficulty being experienced by people who want to adopt children from Ethiopia because of the absence of a bilateral agreement. The enactment of recent legislation in the area, while, by and large welcome, has effectively made it impossible for Irish couples to adopt Ethiopian children. This not only poses obvious problems for first-time or prospective parents seeking to adopt from Ethiopia but it also means that Irish couples who have previously adopted an Ethiopian child and who may want to expand their family will not be in a position to adopt a second child from that country. They are in a difficult space.

In this context, I call on the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to review this situation and specifically to begin negotiations with the Irish Ethiopian Adoption Organisation with a clear view to establishing a bilateral agreement between both countries. Ireland has a positive history of adoption from Ethiopia going back over 20 years.

The most recent figures indicate that between 250 and 300 adoptions of Ethiopian children by Irish parents have taken place during that period. There are now in the region of 7 million orphans in Ethiopia. Of that number, just over 3,000 Ethiopian orphans are currently the subject of intercountry adoptions.

We have a duty to reach out to Ethiopia, which has a population of 80 million people. We are facing into an extremely difficulty budget and our country is experiencing many economic and social problems. Our concerns pale into insignificance when one considers the problems relating to poor education provision, health, shelter, sanitation etc., with which Ethiopia must deal. The position in Ethiopia is not improving, it is getting worse. Only 17% of the Ethiopia is urbanised and the rate of youth unemployment there is worse than that which obtains anywhere else on the planet. More than 1 million people in Ethiopia have AIDS or HIV and the country has endured its own well-publicised share of civil conflict in the past.

As the Minister is aware, Ireland ratified the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoptions in 2010. The enacting legislation, the Adoption Act 2010, came into force on 1 November of last year. The Hague Convention establishes minimum standards for the protection of children and eliminates various abuses previously associated with the intercountry adoption process. In that context, the ratification of the convention and the accompanying legislation are to be warmly welcomed because they ensure that high standards and specifications are applied to the intercountry adoption process at all times. In addition, the best interests of the children involved are placed above all other considerations. Section 40 of the Adoption Act stipulates that, in respect of intercountry adoptions, only children from contracting states may be adopted by Irish couples. The only other avenue by means of which Irish couples may adopt children is if they come from a country that has a bilateral agreement with this State. That Ethiopia has limited resources means it has been unable to ratify the Hague Convention. As a result, and in order for adoptions to continue into Ireland from Ethiopia, a bilateral agreement between the two countries must, as required under the Adoption Act, be put in place.

It is important to point out that the Hague Convention allows for adoptions to countries which have not ratified the convention. As already stated, the Adoption Act 2010 allows for bilateral agreements with such countries. As far as I understand it, Ireland is the only country which has restricted adoptions to countries which have ratified the convention and which will not allow adoptions - carried out to Hague standards - from non-contracting states with bilateral agreements. Significantly, countries which have ratified the Hague Convention - the UK, Belgium, Norway, Sweden and Germany - facilitate adoptions from Ethiopia, despite the fact it has not yet ratified the convention. Furthermore, Australia has a bilateral agreement with Ethiopia. I am of the view that the position with regard to Australia could be mirrored in Ireland. While this country currently has no bilateral agreements, history shows that the now expired bilateral agreement with Vietnam was an exceptionally positive collaboration. As a result, there is no reason an equally productive link could not be established with Ethiopia.

It is worth noting that 80% of all intercountry adoptions worldwide are from countries which have not ratified the Hague Convention and 20% are from those which have ratified it. There are many families in Ireland which are, for one reason or another, seeking to adopt Ethiopian children but which are being prevented from doing so. There is an easy remedy to this situation. I call on the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to agree to a request from the Irish Ethiopian Adoption Organisation to have a meeting with her and to authorise the Adoption Authority of Ireland to commence negotiations with the Ethiopian authorities on establishing a bilateral agreement with Ireland.

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