Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 101: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the position regarding inter-country adoption, in particular, such adoptions between Ireland and Russia and Ireland and Ethiopia; the status of any adoption agreement between Ireland and those countries; and if her Department has plans to further facilitate adoptions from those countries. [17177/09]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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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 Inter-country Adoption, was published on 23 January, 2009.

A core principle of the Hague Convention is that inter-country adoption should be child-centred – that is, in all stages of the process, the child's interests must be paramount. Legislating for inter-country adoption is essential to give protection to children during 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. This is an additional safeguard for a receiving country like Ireland with regards to the standards that are being applied in the sending country – over which we have no jurisdiction. As a receiving country, it is especially important for Ireland to have some confidence in the process of consent to the adoption, in the status of the child as adoptable and in a guarantee of no improper financial gain from the process.

I firmly believe that legislation and, specifically, the regime of the Hague Convention provide 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 inter-country 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 that have ratified the Hague Convention as well as 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 that continue to seek homes abroad for children in need of alternative care that 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 Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and 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 with countries from which children have traditionally been adopted by Irish applicants 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 Governments of these sovereign States. However, at this point in time, it is my priority to endeavour to ensure that an international bilateral agreement with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is put in place as soon as possible to maintain the continuity of arrangements between Ireland and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in relation to inter-country adoption.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 102: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the reason the time it takes to carry out inter-country adoption procedures vary from just a few months to a year in some parts of the country to four or five years in other parts; if she will provide figures detailing the number of social workers involved in processing these procedures by county or relevant administrative area; and if her Department has plans to reduce the waiting times for carrying out these procedures in those parts of the country where it is currently high. [17178/09]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 103: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if the Health Information and Quality Authority has a statutory role to assess inter-country adoption procedures here from the standpoint of international best practice; if such an assessment or inspection of the relevant social services will take place at some point in the future. [17179/09]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Adoption Acts, 1952 -1998 provide the statutory framework for adoption, including intercountry adoption, in Ireland. The Adoption Act, 1952 provides for the establishment of the Adoption Board. The Adoption Board has a range of powers and functions which include: (i) powers to make adoption orders and in doing so, to determine the eligibility and suitability of applicants for adoption; (ii) to determine of the requisite consent to adoption and the validity of such consents; and (iii) to determine that the requisite administrative and procedural requirements under the Act have been met.

In determining the issue of eligibility and suitability, either in relation to the making of an adoption order or the issuing of a Declaration of Eligibility or Suitability to adopt abroad, the Board has regard to assessement reports prepared by the Health Service Executive or a registered adoption society. Under section 8 of the Adoption Act, 1991 the Health Service Executive carries out assessements of eligibility and suitability for intercountry adoption or makes arrangements for such assessments to be carried out by a registered adoption society. The Adoption Act, 1952 also provides for the establishment of an Register of Adoption Societies. The Adoption Board keeps this register and grants registration to those bodies competent to undertake the obligations of a registered adoption society set out in the Acts for the making of arrangments for adoption.

At a practical level, the development of standards for the assessment of applicants for intercountry adoption has been advanced through the conjoint working of the Adoption Board, the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the Health Services Executive. This work was based on a Report commissioned by the Department of Health and Children and submitted to Government in June 1999 "Towards a Standardised Framework for Intercountry Adoption Assessment Procedures". The standardised framework which emerged from that process in 2000 was founded on evidence-based practice and developed with the assistance of international agencies in the field. The implementation of this framework is continually under review by all parties as intercountry adoption practice and experience continues to evolve and with particular regard to the new statutory framework likely to emerge from the recently published Adoption Bill, 2009.

The Bill is aimed at copperfastening the role of a new Adoption Authority as the Central Authority under the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. This will include the strengthening of the system of accreditation for a range of agencies working in the adoption field, either assessing or assisting applicants in advancing their adoption application once they have been approved as eligible and suitable to adopt by the Adoption Authority. This will also provide for a comprehensive framework for the oversight of intercountry adoption practices across jurisdictional boundaries in conjunction with other Contracting States. The Health Information and Quality Authority has no role in setting standards for assessements under the Adoption Acts, 1952-1998.