Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 245: To ask the Minister for Health and Children when the renewal of the bilateral adoption agreement between Ireland and Russia will be finalised to allow intercountry adoptions between Ireland and Russia; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10983/09]

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 284: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will renew the bilateral adoption agreement between Ireland and Russia before the Adoption Bill is passed; if her attention has been drawn to the couples who are in the process of adopting children from Russia; their position if this agreement ceases; the way she will deal with this situation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11232/09]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 245 and 284 together.

The Adoption Bill, 2009, which will give force of law to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, was published on 23rd January, 2009.

A core principle of the Hague Convention is that intercountry adoption should be child centred, that is, in all stages of the process the child's interests must be paramount. Legislating for intercountry adoption is essential to give protection to children in the process of adoption. The Hague Convention has put in place the equivalent of a contract between states to regulate the standards that will apply in each jurisdiction. It is an additional safeguard for a receiving country like Ireland regarding the standards that are being applied in the sending country, over which we have no jurisdiction. As a receiving country it is especially important to have some confidence in the process of consent to the adoption, the status of the child as adoptable and a guarantee of no improper financial gain from the process.

I firmly believe that legislation and specifically the regime of the Hague Convention provides an assurance for individual children, their families, and the State, that appropriate procedures have been followed and that the adoption was affected in the best interests of the child. As such, it is our intention that intercountry adoptions will now meet the standards of the Hague Convention.

Under the proposed new legislative regime, prospective adoptive parents will be able to adopt from countries which have ratified the Hague Convention, and from those countries with which Ireland has a bilateral agreement based on Hague standards. As part of the preparations for the likely passage and entry into force of these new legislative arrangements, my Office has been liaising with the Department of Foreign Affairs to identify and negotiate with countries who continue to seek homes abroad for children in need of alternative care which cannot be provided domestically. We are working actively to assess the possibilities of entering into bilateral agreements with a small number of countries, including the Russian Federation.

As regards the Russian Federation, my Office is undertaking preparatory work to consider the contents of such an agreement, including anticipating the likely requirements of the Russian Federation.

While every effort will be made to conclude a bilateral agreement in advance of any of the proposed changes in Irish law taking effect, it must be acknowledged that these matters will be determined to a considerable degree by the Government of the Russian Federation.

However, at this point in time, it is my priority to endeavour to ensure that an international bilateral agreement with Vietnam is put in place as soon as possible, to maintain the continuity of arrangements between Ireland and Vietnam in relation to intercountry adoption.

In this regard, I am pleased to confirm that a draft bilateral agreement for intercountry adoption was, on March 6th, delivered through the Department of Foreign Affairs to the Vietnamese Authorities for their consideration.

Furthermore, in a letter accompanying the draft agreement, the Vietnamese Government has been advised of our willingness to travel to discuss the draft at the earliest opportunity.