Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 142: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the position regarding persons who wish to adopt children from Vietnam; if an interim agreement will be put in place with Vietnam to accommodate applicants who had registered to adopt prior to 1 May 2009; if the Hague convention is ratified, will Irish persons be prohibited from adopting children from non-Hague or non-bilateral countries; if the Adoption Bill 2009 has allowed for the appropriate transition measures particularly for those who have already invested time and money; and if she will outline the statutory rights of sole applicants. [46216/09]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Adoption Bill, 2009, is designed to give force of law to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption. The new legislation, which incorporates the provisions of the Hague Convention, is designed to provide a framework to ensure that appropriate procedures have been followed and that all adoptions are effected in the best interests of the child. Future intercountry adoption arrangements will be governed by the terms of the Adoption Bill 2009 when enacted. The issue of transitional measures for prospective parents who are at a definable stage in the adoption process when the Bill is enacted and who wish to continue to adopt a child from a non-Hague, non-bilateral country, is being examined. Prospective adoptive parents have waited a long time and it is my intention to be as flexible as possible in relation to applicants.

I recently received the UNICEF report 'Adoption from Vietnam: Problems and Challenges' carried out by the International Social Service (ISS). I discussed the findings of the report yesterday with a number of groups representing persons wishing to adopt from Vietnam. I indicated that the report will be considered by Government and that a decision will be made in the near future with regard to future adoptions from Vietnam.