Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

This group relates to the making of transitional arrangements when the Bill is enacted. The amendments are to sections 63 and 175 of the Bill. I am satisfied that my amendments address some of the issues raised by Senators, in so far as is possible, with regard to difficulties encountered with transitional arrangements. Section 63, as originally drafted, provided that a foreign adoption, as described in the Adoption Act 1991, would, if it was in process immediately before the establishment date, proceed under the new legislation as though it had been commenced under the new legislation. Representations were made to me on behalf of prospective adoptive parents who considered themselves to be disadvantaged by this provision, in so far as the new legislation would only allow for adoption from a country that was party to the Hague Convention or from a country with which Ireland had a bilateral agreement. Many prospective adoptive parents affected by this provision had commenced adoption proceedings some years ago and anticipated adopting a child from Vietnam, Russia or other non-Hague Convevtion countries which would be excluded by the new legislation until such time as a bilateral agreement had been reached or the Hague Convention had been signed by the country in question.

In an effort to address the Senators' concerns, I have introduced a number of amendments to the Bill which provide for prospective adoptive parents to proceed with adoptions from non-Hague Convention or non-bilateral agreement countries if, immediately before the establishment date, they were at that stage in the adoption process where they had been issued with a declaration of eligibility and suitability.

The amendment further requires that the Adoption Authority would have to be satisfied that the adoption meets all the standards of the Hague Convention.