Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to reply to the debate on this Adjournment Matter which I am taking on behalf of the Minister of State with special responsibility for children and young people, Deputy Barry Andrews. The Government's objective in regard to adoption is to provide for a regime in which the child will be at the centre of the adoption process, whether it be an inter-country or a domestic adoption, and that adoptions will be effected in a manner that is legal, safe and secure. A key component in achieving this objective is the development of an appropriate legislative regime that will recognise the changed and changing global situation with regard to adoption in the last 20 years. The Adoption Bill which was published on 23 January 2009 provides an assurance for individual children, their families and the State that appropriate procedures have been followed and that the adoption was effected in the best interests of the child. A core principle of both the Adoption Bill and the Hague Convention is that the child's interests must be paramount. The Hague Convention which is given the force of law in the Bill effectively puts in place an agreement between states to regulate the standards that will apply in each jurisdiction. It is to put in place safeguards that acceptable standards are being applied in other countries, over which we have no jurisdiction.

The recent difficulty arose when the Russian Ministry of Education blacklisted regions within more than a dozen countries, including Ireland, the United States, the United Kingdom and France. This resulted in the suspension of referrals for adoption. The issue as it pertains to Ireland relates to the alleged non-completion of post-placement reports. When adopting from Russia, adoptive parents agree to complete a series of post-placement reports on the child which are to be lodged with the Russian authorities. It should be noted that this is an administrative arrangement as part of the Russian adoption process and is not an Irish legal requirement. While neither the Adoption Board nor the HSE has a statutory function in the provision of post-placement reports, they facilitate the preparation of same. The key commitment given by adoptive parents in the legal affidavit which is required of all applicants is to co-operate in the provision of such reports. This issue arose previously in 2009 and was resolved to the satisfaction of the Russian authorities. As recently as December 2009, officials from the office of the Minister of State with responsibility for children and youth affairs received positive feedback from the Russian authorities on the issue and there was no indication that the Russian Government was about to take the decision to suspend adoptions for Irish applicants.

Following the announcement of the blacklisting, the Russian Embassy was asked to provide details of all outstanding reports. The HSE, in conjunction with the Adoption Board, examined the list and the up-to-date position on the reports was compiled. According to information received from the HSE, more than half of the reports listed by the Russian authorities as outstanding had previously been completed by the adoptive parents and forwarded to the Russian Embassy in Dublin. The majority of the remaining reports have been completed by the HSE and are with the adoptive parents. In a small number of cases adoptive parents have not engaged with the HSE, thus preventing the completion of reports.

Two weeks ago the Minister of State met senior representatives from the Russian Embassy who acknowledged that a significant number of reports had previously been submitted to the Russian Embassy. The embassy representatives are liaising with authorities in Russia in this regard. The Minister of State asked that the embassy officials relay to the Russian Ministry of Education our commitment to assisting Irish parents to furnish post-placement reports in a timely fashion. He further asked whether Ireland could be removed from the blacklist on the basis of the information supplied. The Russian officials said they expected to be in a position to complete their report on the matter within days and would, in turn, send it to government Departments in Moscow.

The Minister of State is deeply aware of the angst and frustration prospective adoptive parents continue to experience as a result of recent events. Parents who have already adopted from Russia are being encouraged by the HSE to provide any outstanding information for the Russian Government in a timely fashion.