Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 207: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the position in relation to the preparedness of Ireland to ratify the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption; the efforts being made to sign bilateral agreements with countries such as Russia, China and the Ukraine where many Irish adoptions occur; her proposals in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27527/07]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Health and Children is currently drafting legislation to ratify the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. Considerable progress has been made in drafting this legislation and it is expected that the Bill will be published around the end of this year.

Once the new legislation has been enacted it will be possible for Irish applicants to adopt from other countries which have ratified the Convention; or from countries with whom Ireland has a bilateral agreement based on Hague principles. Adoptions from some countries are likely to cease as a result. This situation has been anticipated and it has been agreed by my Office and the Adoption Board that bilateral agreements will be actively pursued with a number of countries.

In negotiating agreements, priority is being given to those countries with which Ireland has an existing bilateral agreement, or administrative arrangements in place which reflect the ethos and standards of the Hague Convention and from which Irish applicants have a recent history of adopting.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 208: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the reason inter-country adoptions from Ethiopia and Rwanda have been suspended and adoptions from Guatamala have been stopped; her views on the impact this will have on the validity of previous adoptions from these countries; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27528/07]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Adoption in Ireland is regulated by the Adoption Board, which is an independent, statutory body. The Board must make decisions regarding adoptions in line with its assessment of the situation in each country, and its responsibility to ensure that all activities are undertaken with the best interests of the child as a paramount consideration.

The Adoption Board has discontinued the issuing of declarations of eligibility and suitability in respect of the adoption of children from Guatemala. There are a number of documents already in the public domain regarding concerns over the trafficking of children from Guatemala. These reports cover a long period of time in which the issue of trafficking and sale of children in the context of international adoption has continued to be raised.

I should point out that a number of other countries entered reservations regarding Guatemala's accession to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. These countries include Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. These reservations date from 2003 and remain extant. This means that these countries do not accept that procedures in Guatemala reach Hague Standards regarding intercountry adoption, and therefore, have objected to or suspended acceptance of Guatemala's accession to the Convention and will not treat them as party to the Convention. This effectively means that these countries have a ban on adoptions from Guatemala.

In light of the long-standing and continuing international concern with regard to adoption practices in Guatemala, which have shown little sign of improvement, despite international comment and support, over the last ten years, I am of the view that the position taken by the Adoption Board is reasonable and measured. I have been assured by the Adoption Board that it is satisfied with regard to the validity of adoptions of Guatemalan children to date.

The Adoption Board is also currently examining the adoption laws of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Republic of Rwanda to determine if they meet the requirements for recognition in Ireland. This examination was undertaken as part of the preparations to ratify the Hague Convention, and it has highlighted a number of important legal issues which require further investigation. In the circumstances, and in order to protect the adoption process, the Adoption Board has decided, as a precautionary measure, to suspend the granting of Declarations of Eligibility and Suitability in respect of these two countries until the investigations are complete. Following the receipt of legal advice, the Adoption Board has been able to assure parents who have previously adopted from Ethiopia, and whose adoptions are already entered in the Register of Foreign Adoptions, that these adoptions are valid and secure. I have been assured by the Board that this issue is being dealt with as a matter of priority. I feel that the Board's decision is an appropriate one in the circumstances.