Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will circulate the information in question. It is worth making the point that this is a public information and education issue. There are large numbers of parents in Ireland who would like to adopt. It is possible that next year up to 1,000 couples may wish to adopt. The reality is that the number of children available for inter-country adoption is far lower than was the case in recent years. In the past, very high numbers of children from Russia and Ethiopia, in particular, were adopted into Ireland. The position in respect of India, Russia and Vietnam is changing, particularly as they are encouraging their own citizens to adopt children. This has led to a huge change in the context of the number of children from these countries who are available for adoption. The situation internationally has changed dramatically. In the case of some countries in which children who are in institutions might be available for adoption - Haiti could be one example in this regard - the relevant international agreements are not in place to allow such adoptions.

The position is extremely complex and that is why I have been trying to ensure that, if at all possible, we have bilateral agreements in place with countries such as Russia. We have signed an agreement with Vietnam and people will be able to adopt from that country towards the end of this month. We have met the Indian authorities in the interests of ensuring that couples which want to adopt from India will be able to do so.

The other striking aspect of this matter is that many of the children who are available for adoption have special needs. Prospective Irish adoptive parents must be aware of that fact. The situation is continually changing and we are working very hard to ensure we have in place the appropriate links with countries where there are children who can be adopted.

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