Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity provided by today's debate to discuss and reflect upon the important issue of inter-country adoption. I am conscious that this is a topic of much interest to Deputies and to existing and prospective adoptive parents.

The issue of inter-country adoption has been the focus of particular attention in recent weeks arising from the circumstances and developments in Mexico, and it is appropriate that we allow time to discuss and understand the systems and standards governing this area. I will begin by setting out the legislative policy and structural framework currently in place and address the issues relating to various countries.

I note the number of developments in the area of adoption. For example, the Adoption Authority of Ireland has approved 13 accredited bodies to perform the various adoption functions. Equally, the Adoption Authority of Ireland has approved three accredited bodies to perform assessments, which should speed up considerably the process for couples, which as we all know has been far too long. It should be noted that we have adoption arrangements with Bulgaria, China, Thailand and the Philippines. Very recently representatives of the adoption authority agreed to travel to India to discuss an administrative arrangement between the two central authorities. I will address the issues relating to a number of countries during the course of my contribution.

The practice of domestic and intercountry adoption in Ireland is governed by the Adoption Act 2010, which commenced on 1 November 2010. Many Deputies in this House and the Seanad contributed to that legislation. That commencement coincided with Ireland's ratification of the Hague Convention on the protection of children and co-operation in respect of intercountry adoption. Signing that convention has changed this issue in Ireland and couples will primarily travel to countries which are signatories of the convention to effect intercountry adoptions. There are some exceptions where there are other bilateral agreements in place.

The Adoption Authority of Ireland was established on 1 November, and the Act includes provisions for adoptions into Ireland from those countries which are signatories to the Hague Convention, or with which Ireland has a bilateral agreement. There was also a transitional provision, which has been mentioned in the media in recent days. That enabled prospective adopters to proceed with an adoption from a non-Hague Convention or non-bilateral agreement country, if prior to 1 November 2010 they had been issued with a declaration of eligibility and suitability to adopt. The provision requires that the adoption authority is satisfied that the adoption meets all the standards of the Hague Convention.

We have the Adoption Act, which is a framework for standards, to ensure that all adoptions are in the best interests of the child. The core of the adoption process is that it be carried out to the highest possible standards and in the best interests of the child. It should not be forgotten that intercountry adoption is a service for those children who cannot be raised by their birth parents or cared for in their own country. The interests of the child must be always paramount throughout the adoption process, and everybody in the House would agree that this is best achieved by the full implementation of the highest national and international standards governing the adoption process.

In this context, Deputies who have raised adoption issues in the past will be familiar with the terms of the Hague Convention, which is a set of core standards designed to ensure good practice. More than 80 countries have signed it, which means they have signed up to the highest international standards for intercountry adoption.

The first point of the Hague Convention regards subsidiarity. We have heard much about subsidiarity as it relates to Europe. I was recently in Vietnam and that country is now committed to domestic adoption first. This means that before a child is placed for intercountry adoption, every effort must have been exhausted in the native country to see if people wish to adopt the child in that country. The rate of domestic adoptions is going up in Vietnam, meaning there will be fewer children who will be suitable or available for intercountry adoption.

The second principle regards support for birth families and the need for free and informed consent. There are examples where consent has either not been sought or given freely, and nobody would support that. The third key principle provides that no party should profit from the intercountry adoption process and no money should change hands beyond legitimate expenses incurred. It is important that prospective adoptive parents are fully aware of these key guiding principles before beginning the adoption process. All adoptive parents have told me they would want such provisions for their children and these standards implemented. They are in the interests of the adopted children as much as those of the parents.

I will mention some statistics for intercountry adoption. The adoption board registered 341 foreign adoptions in 2003, rising to a high of 397 in 2008. The number of registrations has declined somewhat since, with approximately 200 intercountry adoptions in 2010 and 2011. There has been a transition period arising from the Hague Convention, which has made it difficult for couples. There is a new way and a more stringent set of standards, with the process more complex in many ways than it was in the past. More than 700 children from Vietnam have found homes here, along with 1,500 children from Russia and others from Ethiopia and other countries. We have a very good experience of intercountry adoption, and many families have provided warm and stable homes to children through that process.

Intercountry adoption is not without risk, and it is for this reason that the principles set out in the Hague Convention were developed. We want to minimise those risks at every stage of the adoption process. If countries have not signed up to the Hague Convention, there must be a bilateral arrangement or a very strong administrative agreement. The first priority is the welfare of children.

The application of the Hague principles falls to the designated central authorities in the respective referring and receiving countries. In the case of Ireland, the function is discharged by the Adoption Authority of Ireland, which was established in late 2010. I stress that this authority is an independent, quasi-judicial body appointed by the Government. I pay tribute to the chair, Mr. Geoffrey Shannon, and the very dedicated staff in that organisation who have had to cope with a changed process, the concerns of adoptive parents, the intricacies of the legal positions between countries and coming to terms with different legal processes in the countries they deal with. It is very complex work and as everybody in the House knows, it is a very emotionally demanding time for adoptive parents as they try to get a handle on the different processes and legal issues. For many, that comes after a very long assessment process. The assessment period should now be down to one year, and there is no need for it to be any longer in the vast majority of cases.

I will mention a number of countries as I know Deputies have particular concerns. I have outlined to the House already the position with regard to Vietnam. The Hague Convention will enter into force there on 1 February 2012, and this is a significant milestone for the country. The Vietnamese authorities have put in a considerable effort to strengthen and regulate the adoption practice, and Deputies will remember that adoptions were suspended from that country several years ago. I felt it appropriate to begin to re-establish political and diplomatic links with the Vietnamese when I came into office, which I have done, and I recently visited the country. I am happy to say that was a positive visit, and I know the developments there are of particular interest to the 19 couples who were about to adopt when the process was halted, as well as the 200 who had named Vietnam as a country from which they would like to adopt children.

We will shortly be in a position to have the accredited agencies named that will work in Vietnam with couples, and we will be able to have an administrative arrangement with Vietnam that will lead to a resumption of adoptions between Ireland and Vietnam. I have invited the head of Vietnam's adoption authority and its Minister for justice to visit Ireland, and both have accepted the invitation. I look forward to having them here and discussing further the inter-country adoption process between Ireland and Vietnam. Adoptions from Mexico have been the subject of particular media focus in recent weeks. The chairman of the Adoption Authority of Ireland, Mr. Shannon, has set out very clearly the position of the authority with regard to the regulation of adoptions between Mexico and Ireland. The authority has been proactive and has gone to Mexico to work with the Mexican Central Authority. There is a very good relationship between the central authority in Mexico and the Adoption Authority of Ireland. Adoptions can continue between this country and Mexico. Any adoption from Mexico must be effected between the respective central authorities. There is no provision under these arrangements for processing private adoptions. I understand that the 11 cases in question arose from private arrangements. I reiterate the advice to prospective adoptive parents that applicants considering Mexico should first consult the Adoption Authority of Ireland website for the latest advisory notice. Approximately seven advisory notices on Mexico have already been published on the website.

I am very much aware that the recent events will also have given rise to concerns for those who have previously adopted from Mexico. I reassure those adoptive parents that the authority has no evidence that previous adoptions are unsafe or are affected by the recent events in Mexico. The recent unfortunate developments serve to reinforce the need to ensure that all intercountry adoptions are properly regulated and effected in accordance with the provisions of the Hague Convention.

I refer briefly to Ethiopia. It is not a signatory to the Hague Convention. I gave approval to the Adoption Authority to commence a process of examining the feasibility of a bilateral agreement with Ethiopia. The authority has confirmed that it has commenced this process and it will keep me informed of progress in this regard. I emphasise that we are at a very early stage in this process. Given that Ethiopia has not signed the Hague Convention we will have to visit the country, look at the legal systems and see the compatibility under the new arrangements under the Hague Convention. Because so many children here have been adopted from Ethiopia, many couples, if they intend to adopt a second child, understandably, would like to adopt from the same country. Many couples have been caught in the situation where the country from which they previously adopted has not signed the Hague Convention and therefore there is not the automatic exchange there could have been if they had signed. Because of the representations that have been made to me and the fact that so many children have come from Ethiopia to live here I have asked the Adoption Authority to assess the situation and to come to a decision on it as quickly as possible.

What I have been keen to do in the area of intercountry adoption is not to have a situation where there is drift. I want clarity about what countries couples can adopt from. I want them to know what the situation is, and where countries are not compliant with the Hague Convention I wish to be clear whether we have the resources and the possibility of working with those countries. As one can imagine, quite an amount of resources are required if one is to work with other countries that are not compliant with the Hague Convention. The work on adoption must be seen in the context of many other demands on my Department and in the area of child protection. There has been a visit to Russia as well. Complex constitutional issues arise but they are being examined to see whether a resolution is possible.

I am very conscious of the challenges and stresses faced by prospective Irish adoptive parents as they seek to adopt a child from outside Ireland. There are several contributory factors in this, including the very challenging and rigorous assessment process and the level of uncertainty which has been a feature of intercountry adoption. In particular, we have seen a decrease in the number of children available for intercountry adoption in recent years following the ratification of the Hague Convention by a number of countries. While I sympathise fully with those going through the adoption process I stress that the best interests of the children in this process must be at the core of all of our thinking and actions. I know that this is a shared objective.

I will be very much guided by the advice I receive from the Adoption Authority of Ireland which has such a key role to play in this area. We have an obligation, of which I am very conscious, to ensure that the interests of the children involved, their birth parents, and prospective adoptive parents are fully respected throughout the process.

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