Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 109: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will report on the situation regarding inter-country adoptions from Kazakhstan; if adoptions have ceased; if so, the reason for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21260/10]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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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. Kazakhstan is not a signatory of the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption. Once the new legislation is enacted therefore, inter-country adoptions from Kazakhstan will only be possible if Kazakhstan ratifies the Convention or if a bilateral agreement between the two countries is concluded. At present there are no plans to open negotiations on an bilateral agreement with Kazakhstan.