Gay Mitchell (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 200: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 189 and 200 of 20 October 2004, the position on inter-country adoptions with Belarus; if there is an international agreement between Ireland and Belarus on adoption; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14353/05]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Arrangements with the central authorities in relation to inter-country adoption are primarily a matter for the Adoption Board. The board has remained in regular contact with the Belorussian authorities since inter-country adoptions were suspended in October 2004 and has had a number of very positive meetings with the Belorussian ambassador to Ireland since then. At the most recent meeting on 30 April 2005, the ambassador confirmed that the Belorussian authorities will be focusing their efforts on providing for domestic adoption placements and on fostering arrangements within Belarus, as is required under the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. The number of children eligible for inter-country adoption will considerably reduce as a result and foreign citizens will have to wait for long periods to adopt a child in the Republic of Belarus. The authorities in Belarus are compiling a register of children eligible for inter-country adoption. To date they have been unable to clarify how long this is going to take.