Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 212: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the position in relation to a query (details supplied) from prospective adoptive parents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19997/09]

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. 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.

The Adoption Bill, 2009, was initiated in the Seanad and is currently at Report Stage in that House. The Bill will continue to be prioritised by Government for its passage through the Oireachtas. I have reported in detail to both Houses on the situation regarding a bilateral agreement with Vietnam in recent weeks. As I have already indicated, I will not speculate on the timeframe or outcome of these negotiations as these are genuinely difficult to determine. What I can say is that efforts on the Irish side are intensive and will continue to be so in the coming weeks. I can also say that there has been a high level of engagement on both sides. It is clear from progress so far that there is a willingness on both sides to bring these matters to a successful conclusion, if at all possible.

My Office has been working actively to assess the possibilities of entering into bilateral agreements with a small numbers of countries from which Irish applicants have traditionally adopted, including Ethiopia and the Russian Federation. Work in relation to the Russian Federation has been ongoing for some time. This has included contacts with the Irish Embassy in Moscow and legal and other preparatory work on the possibility of a draft Inter-Country Adoption Agreement between the two countries. A first formal meeting was arranged with the assistance of the Department of Foreign Affairs. This meeting of officials of the OMCYA and the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Ireland took place in earlier this month. I will continue to advance this matter with the assistance of my colleague Minister Martin and of his officials in both Dublin and Moscow.

The demand for intercountry adoption has been increasing at an exponential rate over the last number of years. I understand from the HSE that over 370 first time assessments were completed in 2008 and over 170 second time assessments - a total of around 550. In addition to this increasing figure, the number of post adoption reports required has also been increasing. In 2008 around 1350 post adoption reports were completed. This is now considered to take around 28% of total social work time spent on the intercountry adoption process. Resourcing adoption assessment services has to be considered in the context of other child welfare and protection services provided by the HSE. The adoption service does not sit within a vacuum but has to be managed against competing priorities. Notwithstanding that, every effort has been made by the HSE to protect and improve the service over a number of years.

Under existing legislation assessments for adoption can be undertaken by registered adoption societies and a small number of societies continue to provide such services. Their focus is primarily on domestic adoption services.

The Adoption Bill 2009 develops a new regime for the accreditation of a range of agencies providing adoption services which more fully recognises the phenomenon of intercountry adoption and makes provision for the accreditation of agencies to provide both assessment services or mediation services. The Bill also proposes changes to the regulation of the activities, management and financial arrangements of such agencies. If enacted, there will be opportunity for the development of new agencies to assist in the reduction of waiting times in those areas where the waiting times are longest.