Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy McGinley, for coming to the Chamber to address the issue I raise concerning Irish couples who seek international adoptions and the difficulties present in the existing system. To begin, I offer some background. Irish people who wish to become adoptive parents rightly must go through a rigorous approval programme as part of an international commitment Ireland made as a signatory to international agreements on this issue. As part of the criteria required, such couples must complete forms in order to get Garda clearance and medical and financial approval. They are also required to attend an adoptive preparation course because the children they adopt may be from a different jurisdiction and there are certain requirements with regard to cultural necessities which must also be addressed. Garda and other clearances are valid for a year only but may be repeated. Applicants must select a single country from which they wish to adopt. I will return to the particular problem of the singe country approach. If the couple are deemed eligible and suitable, they are given a declaration of eligibility and suitability and go on a waiting list. The declaration of eligibility and suitability is valid for two years only, although in exceptional circumstances a one year extension may be granted. However, if a suitable adoption cannot be completed within this time, the whole cycle must be restarted and the adoptive parents must go through the process again from the beginning.

I offer some examples of the current situation in Ireland among couples waiting to adopt a child. The information given to me indicates that five couples are awaiting Indian adoptions since 2010, in Bulgaria there is a waiting time of more than three years, and in the Philippines 21 Irish couples are on a waiting list, a number for more than two years. One couple currently going through an assessment process has no country available to them although they have had a declaration since 2011.

I have something to propose today for the Minister of State to take on board, although I do not ask him to give me a determinate and substantive reply today, and I acknowledge that some of the information I may give him is new to his ears. I would be grateful, however, if he would return to the Ministers for Health and Children and Youth Affairs with this issue. Further detail can be supplied if required. I propose that the validity period of the declaration of eligibility and suitability be increased to four years, with the possibility of a one year extension, or to allow for a reduced assessment if such must be repeated. Rather than have the period of two years end with the couple obliged to commence the cycle again, there might be a system of minor adjustment or assessment that would continue for another two years. The reason I ask this is that the waiting time for inter-country adoptions has increased to more than three years and most applicants expect to be assessed twice as standard practice under the existing regime.

There is a second issue involved. The adoptive parent is rightly required to demonstrate sensitivity to the culture and ethos of a child's birth country, because of the international context. However, applicants must choose a single country. If a child is being adopted from India or parents wish to adopt an Indian child, there is a single application whereby the cultural focus is on India. The difficulty is that the declaration is also valid for only one country. It is not the case that a couple can hope to adopt a child from India, Bulgaria or wherever. They are locked into one country, which limits their options, especially if a difficulty arises. This has been indicated at present in the case of Russia, where certain civil and human rights issues have been raised and President Putin has indicated he will cut off adoption ties to countries that have signed the signatory process.

I request two changes. First, that applicants be permitted to choose more than one country at a time or to be able to move between countries. Sometimes countries suspend adoptions, even for valid reasons. Second, recognition should be given to candidates who are capable of appreciating more than one country at a time and who would be most likely to succeed with a valid declaration if they were given a greater choice.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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I am taking this issue on behalf of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald. The adoption process, in Ireland and worldwide, has undergone a great deal of change recently. The primary catalyst for this change has been worldwide efforts to adhere to the principles of the Hague Convention on adoption. In Ireland, this change can be attributed to comprehensive amendment of our adoption legislation that was initiated not only in an effort to prepare for Ireland's 2010 ratification of the Hague Convention but also in an effort to consolidate the existing legislation and to reflect social change that had taken place since the implementation of the original 1952 Adoption Act.

The rigours of the Hague Convention, and the Adoption Authority of Ireland's compliance with that convention have been demonstrated, as membership of the convention is a mechanism for improving standards in inter-country adoption. All players in the adoption process now have a responsibility to ensure that child-centred adoption is the core of all the elements of the adoption process. This will change the adoption landscape and will also require Irish adopters and, possibly, prospective adopters in our neighbouring European countries to adjust and, perhaps, change their expectations.

The implementation of the Hague Convention by sending countries has inevitably led to a change in the timescale for adoption and also to the age and needs of children available for adoption. If the core Hague principles such as informed and considered parental consent and subsidiarity in the adoption processes are adhered to, the timescale for adoption and the age and needs profile of children who become eligible for adoption must also change.

The expiration of declarations of eligibility and suitability, DES, is covered under section 41(1) of the Adoption Act 2010. The section provides that a DES expires after 24 months from the date of issuance of the declaration, or after a further period of not more than 12 months that the Adoption Authority may specify. The Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, understands that at the time of drafting of the legislation, it was felt that this provided an adequate period, following the initial assessment of applicants, to complete an adoption. Given the changing landscape of inter-country adoption, this may no longer be the case.

The Minister is examining a number of proposals in respect of amendments to the Adoption Act 2010, and intends to bring forward any changes to the legislation in conjunction with the draft adoption (information and tracing) Bill 2013 which it is proposed to bring before the Oireachtas in the coming months. However, any change to the length of validity of a declaration must be weighed up against the necessity to ensure that an applicant's current situation in regard to suitability to adopt is taken into account in the adoption process.

In regard to choice of country, the Minister is aware of the difficulty this issue causes for potential adoptive parents. The Minister has visited Vietnam, with which Ireland has an administrative arrangement, and it is anticipated that adoptions will commence from Vietnam in the coming months. In mid-March the Minister also visited India and gained clarification on a number of issues to allow for inter-country adoption between Ireland and India to commence. The Adoption Authority of Ireland will also finalise administrative arrangements in the coming weeks with the USA.

As part of the assessment process in respect of an application for a declaration of eligibility and suitability to adopt, applicants are required to select a country from which they would like to adopt. They must research the country and the specific needs in regard to adopting a child from this country.

The social worker assesses applicants with reference to the known needs of children from different countries and the specific capacities of these particular applicants to meet the needs of a child adopted from this area. Following the issuance of a declaration to adopt, should applicants wish to change to another country, they may contact their social worker for an updated assessment in this regard.

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. What I am proposing is not in conflict with the Hague Convention. In fact it would enhance the measures that Ireland has signed up to in the convention. I agree that the convention has moved toward a more child-centred adoption policy in which the child's interest is central both at the beginning and the end of the process. However, the difficulty we face in Ireland is that the single country adoption process is causing problems for parents who are seeking to adopt and give a good home to children. As they are dealing with one country, the timeframe sometimes expires or is exhausted and the prospective parents have to commence the entire process anew. Furthermore, the country from which they are seeking to adopt may close its adoption options for a period of time and the prospective parents are thereby locked out of the adoption process.

I welcome that the Minister, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, is preparing to examine the way in which the structures are being operated out of Ireland, but I ask that the Minister of State bring the points I have raised to her attention. I would be most grateful if I could get a response to them.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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I assure the Deputy that the points he has raised will be brought to the attention of the Minister, who is familiar with the difficulties he outlined. I hope some of the problems arising will be addressed in the adoption (information and tracing) Bill 2013, which the Minister intends to introduce in the coming months. I cannot be more accurate than that at this stage.