Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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Question 100: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the position regarding the issues raised in correspondence (details supplied) in relation to the issue of inter-country adoption; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18399/07]

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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Question 130: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her views on the contents of correspondence (details supplied); the position regarding the matter of inter-country adoptions and the delays that arise for couples seeking to pursue such adoptions in Kildare and surrounding counties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18398/07]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 100 and 130 together.

As the details supplied by the Deputy raise particular policy questions in relation to an individual, my Office will communicate separately with the Deputy on the matter. The Deputy also raises the broader issue of waiting times for intercountry adoption. This relates to the management and delivery of health and personal social services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive (HSE) under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly, my Office has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange to have this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.

The Government has allocated additional funding to the HSE in recent years to assist in tackling intercountry adoption waiting times. The HSE has been assessing the provision of services in the context of moving from the health board system to a single executive. It has acknowledged that there is a divergence in the provision of services and is committed to addressing those differences.

The Deputy will be aware that demands for assessment for intercountry adoption are continuously increasing. It should be noted that consequent on the increased number of children coming from abroad, there is also a new and increasing demand for post-adoption reports for sending countries. These are also being undertaken by HSE social work staff.

In a number of areas, the HSE have increased capacity through contract arrangements with non-statutory agencies with appropriate expertise. Officials from my office are currently engaged in discussions with the HSE to explore these and other strategies to increase capacity across the country.