Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 110: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the position regarding international agreements between Ireland, Russia and Ethiopia, particularly in relation to international adoptions. [37745/08]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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My Office has been working to finalise a new Bill which will ratify the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption. The purpose of ratifying the Hague Convention is to protect children in the process of adoption. The Hague Convention emphasises the importance of regulatory systems in protecting the fundamental rights of children, and in preventing the abduction, sale of, or traffic in children. Ratification of the Hague Convention puts in place the equivalent of a contract between states to regulate the standards that will apply in each jurisdiction. It is the intention that the proposed adoption legislation will ensure all inter-country adoptions meet standards of the Convention either through ratification of the Convention or through bilateral agreements which meet the standards of the Hague Convention.

As part of the preparations for the likely passage and entry into force of the new legislative arrangements for adoption in Ireland, my Office has been advising the Department of Foreign Affairs on the potential implications of the legislation on existing arrangements and agreements for those countries which have not yet ratified the Hague Convention. We are working actively to assess the possibilities of entering into bilateral agreements with a small number of countries, including Ethiopia and the Russian Federation. Priority is being given to those countries which Irish applicants have traditionally adopted from. Every effort will be made to advance bilaterals where this is possible and acceptable to the countries of origin.