Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 188: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the proposed age limit for adoption in the legislation currently being prepared; if current declarations of eligibility and suitability stand if prospective parents have reached the limit when the adoption process is complete; if she will ensure no current application falls foul of new age limits not in force when the application was made; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28508/07]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is currently working closely with the Parliamentary Draftsman's Office on the drafting of the Adoption Bill, which is a priority within the Government's legislative programme. The issue of an age limit is under consideration and has been discussed as part of a wide consultation process which is informing the drafting process. The Bill will have regard to transitional issues which will arise for applicants who have commenced but not completed the adoption process on the enactment of the legislation.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 189: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if the impending adoption legislation will include a ban on single parent adoptions in view of the fact that the Adoption Board is requiring that sole applicants apply directly to the board providing an affidavit as to the way they meet the five criteria under the inter-country adoption framework before an assessment by the Health Service Executive can be conducted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28509/07]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The legislation governing eligibility to adopt is set out in Section 10 of the Adoption Act 1991. The Adoption Board have introduced guidelines to ensure consistency of approach in determining whether it is satisfied that the particular circumstances of a case meet the requirements of Section 10 (2) so that a sole applicant is eligible to adopt a child. The guidelines provide for a two phase application process in which:

the applicant sends an affidavit of their 'particular circumstances' to the Adoption Board to determine if they are eligible;

only when the sole applicant is deemed eligible by the Adoption Board does the application proceed to the home study and assessment stage — this is a separate and discrete part of the adoption assessment process where suitability is assessed against the five standards as provided for in the Framework for Inter-country Adoption Assessment Procedure. Single applicants deemed eligible are assessed against these standards in the normal way.

The are no proposals at present to introduce a ban on "single parent" adoptions in the legislation currently being drafted.