Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Hague Convention in dealing with inter-country adoption provides only for adoption by married couples. It appears to view married couples as the gold standard. The Bill allows cohabiting persons to use donor-assisted human reproduction methods and creates no distinctions in the context of adoption. If it is deemed appropriate in cases of inter-country adoption only for two parents to adopt, why is the Minister proposing to facilitate adoption in all circumstances, except for those exceptional cases in which the best interests of the child require that he or she be deprived of the possibility of being brought up by a father and a mother?

The rationale for the Hague Convention provisions derives from an inherited knowledge of the complementary nature of the sexes and the need for security and burden sharing. These concepts are not dealt with in the legislation. If it is illegal under the Adoption Act 2010 to bring a child into the country where he or she is not being adopted by a married couple, why is there a different standard in the Bill by refusing to acknowledge that there should be a prior element of the child having a father and a mother as being essential to his or her best interests?

Reference has been made to Dr. Geoffrey Shannon's comments.