Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 239: To ask the Minister for Health and Children when she expects the Adoption Bill 2009 to be signed into law; if couples who are on a list to adopt a child from Ethiopia when the Bill becomes law but who may not have received a referral or who may not have completed the adoption at that stage, will be able to proceed with the adoption; the other information with regard to progress; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29297/09]

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. The Bill, which recently passed all the stages in the Seanad, will continue to be prioritised by the Government for its passage through the Oireachtas.

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 bi-lateral agreement based on Hague standards. Any applicant who is seeking to proceed with an adoption from a non-Hague country, or from a country with which Ireland does not have a bi-lateral agreement, should have regard to the likelihood of the adoption being completed in advance of the Adoption Bill being commenced.

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 bi-lateral inter-country adoption agreements with a small number of countries, including with the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

Ireland has no bi-lateral inter-country adoption agreement in place with the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. In June, 2008, Ethiopian officials stated their intention to ratify the Hague Convention. It is my understanding that a task force of relevant personnel drawn from the Ethiopian Ministries of Women's Affairs, of Justice and of Foreign Affairs was subsequently convened to discuss the ratification of the Hague Convention. However, the Ethiopian authorities acknowledged that these moves were only the beginning of what is likely to be a long process.

With regard to recent developments on the ground, my Office was advised by the Irish Embassy in Addis Ababa on 19 May, 2009, that the court in the city that deals with adoptions was not hearing cases involving abandoned children from all orphanages in Addis Ababa. Following a short period of suspension, the court has recently recommenced hearing cases involving abandoned children at State orphanages in Addis Ababa. However, cases involving abandoned children at private orphanages continue to be suspended.

The reason for the suspension of adoptions from private orphanages has, at its core, concerns over the increase in the number of abandoned children being brought for adoption and the possibility of the spread of unethical practices. The Ethiopian authorities are continuing to investigate the situation with a view to safeguarding the interests of the children concerned and, pending the conclusion of this investigation, the court is not accepting abandonment cases from private orphanages in Addis Ababa.

To date, no information has been forthcoming about a likely timeframe for the investigation. However, my Office, through its contacts in the Irish Embassy in Addis Ababa, will maintain contact with the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to keep abreast of developments, as and when they arise.