Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Ó Laoghaire made a very good case in regard to a young person where there was a delay and the child became an adult during the course of the adoption process. The Minister in her reply to this issue on Committee Stage indicated that this would be a fundamental change because it would involve how we would define a child. If there is delay in the process and there was an intention that the person would be adopted but they cannot be adopted because they have turned the age of 18, is there some mechanism, although perhaps not through legislation, by which the Minister could ensure that if a process was commenced, it would be completed in time for the intention to be fulfilled? That is essentially what the Deputy is seeking to achieve in his amendment.

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