Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My amendments are intended to ensure that couples may be eligible to adopt jointly. It is then the function of Tusla to carry out a suitability assessment. Significant information is given to the birth mother and, rightly, huge weight is given to her views. The birth mother, quite rightly, already has a significant input into the selection of a potential adopter. I am informed by the Adoption Authority that the birth mother, or any person whose consent to a child's adoption is required, would be told about the gender and civil status of any proposed adopters before deciding whether or not to consent to the proposed adoption, and there would be a discussion about this. Further, there is a period during which the birth mother can withdraw consent.

We have constructed the approach to adoption in the Bill in a very careful way so that couples are equally eligible. This does not mean that couples are equally suitable. That is a question for the assessment. The eligibility is equal but a suitability assessment has to be done. This will involve everything which already happens in an adoption assessment. There are no proposals in this legislation to change how the adoption assessment is carried out. The Bill does not alter our careful system of assessments for suitability, which is in line with the Hague Convention. It simply expands the pool of couples eligible to adopt. Many of the adoptions will be in-family adoptions. For the small number of stranger adoptions, if one likes, I am continuing the current policy, which is that adoption is a child welfare mechanism. It is a child welfare measure. There is no studied neutrality on the point. Adoption is a child welfare mechanism and will continue to be a child welfare mechanism. The Bill does nothing to change this position. There is no neutrality. The position is very clear: adoption is a child welfare mechanism.

It is clear that what the Senators are proposing is a hierarchy of adopters in which some people would be considered more suitable than other people.