Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 373: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the progress being made in respect of delays being encountered by Irish families attempting to adopt children from Belarus; when she expects a resolution to the current delay; if her attention has been drawn to the number of Irish couples that have received a declaration to adopt and will she take into consideration the delays that they are experiencing together with the ages of the children involved as some are currently in their mid-late teenage years. [19506/11]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Adoption Act, 2010, gives force of law to 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, provides a framework to ensure that appropriate procedures have been followed and that all adoptions are effected in the best interests of the child. Any adoption from a Hague country must comply with the rules set out in the Hague Convention and with Irish law.

All applicants for intercountry adoption must undergo a detailed statutory assessment process, which is undertaken by professional Social Workers, and must be approved by the Adoption Authority before a Declaration of Eligibility and Suitability to Adopt can be issued to them from the Authority. According to information provided by the Adoption Authority, there have been no applications for registration of foreign adoptions from Belarus since 2007, when one application relating to an adoption effected in 2002 was made.

Belarus has ratified the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. Any applicant with a valid Declaration of Eligibility and Suitability to Adopt who is undertaking an intercountry adoption should ensure the adoption complies fully with the Adoption Act, 2010 and the Hague Convention. Further information in this regard can be found on the Adoption Authority website (www.aai.gov.ie).