Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 154: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the position regarding setting up a policy on a bilateral agreement with Russia on adoption; the steps taken to achieve same; if she is working with one or a number of support groups on same and if names can be quoted on same groups; if greater compliance of post-placement reports has been achieved and if Russia is satisfied with progress; under new adoption legislation will it be her Department that is the relevant recognised Department or is that power delegated to the Office of the Minister for Children and the target date for a bilateral agreement with Russia. [40899/10]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Adoption Act, 2010 was commenced on 1 November 2010. The commencement of the Act coincides with Ireland's ratification of the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption. The 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 Inter-country adoption arrangements will be governed by the terms of the Adoption Act, 2010.

The Russian Government has made it clear that if adoptions are to continue, they wish to have bilaterals put in place with receiving countries. I have written to the Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation to initiate discussions on putting in place a bilateral agreement with Russia that provides safety around the issues of consent and the financial costs of effecting an adoption.

It should be noted that the Adoption Act, 2010, contains a special provision that will enable prospective adoptive parents to proceed with an adoption from a non-Hague or non-bilateral country, if prior to the establishment date, they have been issued with a Declaration of Eligibility and Suitability to adopt. This is significant in that it allows applicants to adopt from Russia if the Declaration has been issued by the Adoption Board prior to commencement of the legislation. The provision requires that the Adoption Authority would be satisfied that the particular adoption meets all the standards of the Hague Convention.

My Office continues to work with Russian authorities with regard to the issue of post placement reports. We have received positive feedback from the Russian Embassy on the issue of outstanding reports. The Russian Embassy indicated to my Office that, during a recent visit to Ireland, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister confirmed that Ireland was not blacklisted as regards to inter country adoption. The Russian Embassy in Dublin advised the Department that prospective adoptive parents can still proceed in applying to the Russian consulate for documents for visas and adoptive dossiers for registration.