Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)
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Question 350: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will set up a bilateral agreement with Ethiopia, building on the long relationship Ireland has with that country while recognising the 300 adoptive families directly affected by this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38492/11]

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 351: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the reason she has decided to examine the possibility of a bilateral agreement for adoption with Russia, a non-signatory to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption; the reason she will not do the same for Ethiopia in view of that decision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38793/11]

Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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Question 354: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to commence negotiations with the Irish Ethiopian Adoption Organisation on establishing a bilateral agreement between Ethiopia and Ireland as requested by the Adoption Authority; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38823/11]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 356: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the position regarding inter-country adoptions; the measures she is taking to ensure adoptions can take place from Ethiopia (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38966/11]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 350, 351, 354 and 356 together.

Adoptions from Ethiopia, effected under the transitional arrangements provided for in the Adoption Act 2010, are ongoing and are currently being examined, and recognised, by the Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI). These transitional arrangements may lead to adoptions from Ethiopia taking place up to the end of October 2013. Adoptions from Ethiopia which are not covered by the transitional arrangements referred to above require a bilateral agreement between Ireland and Ethiopia. The negotiation of bilateral agreements on inter-country adoption with states who have not ratified the Hague Convention is governed by Section 73 of the Adoption Act 2010 which states that "the Authority, with the prior consent of the Minister, may enter into discussions with any non-contracting state concerning the possibility of the Government entering into a bilateral agreement with that State."

Ethiopia, as it is not a signatory of the Hague Convention, is covered by Section 73 of the Adoption Act, 2010. The opening of negotiations on such a bilateral would require an analysis of

the current situation regarding adoptions in Ethiopia;

issues regarding the compatibility of the laws between the two countries and

the plans of that jurisdiction vis a vis the Hague Convention.

The AAI have indicated that certain issues could arise that would require detailed consideration, especially issues relating to the effect of Ethiopian adoptions in the context of the Adoption Act 2010. My Department is in contact with the AAI and the Irish Embassy in Ethiopia in order to assess possible next steps vis a vis that jurisdiction. However further action will have to have regard for the wider work programme of the AAI and agreed priorities.

As the Hague Convention is designed to ensure a minimum set of standards in inter-country adoption, the Adoption Authority of Ireland have indicated that their first priority is to reach agreements on arrangements with other Hague countries. The AAI have recently returned from the USA and now intend to develop an administrative arrangement with the USA for inter-country adoption. In the coming weeks the AAI intends to visit Mexico and Vietnam in the context of entering into administrative arrangements with both those jurisdictions, the latter being dependent on the entering into force of the Hague convention in Vietnam on 1 February 2012.

I am extremely conscious that the Authority have a full work programme in the terms of these countries as well as the important upcoming priority of our engagement with Vietnam. In addition, the Authority and my officials will be undertaking exploratory meetings with the Russian authorities in the coming weeks. A delegation is visiting Russia in the near future in relation to preliminary discussions around the potential for a bilateral on inter-country adoption. This is a follow up to previous discussions which took place earlier in the year, on the initiative of the Russian authorities. The assessment of non-Hague countries and the possibility of entering discussions on a bilateral is complex and resource intensive. I have to have regard to the resources available to the AAI and to my Department, and to the work priorities of both.

The Authority must also prioritise checks of legal compatibility with a wide range of jurisdictions in order to process applications for the recognition of the adoptions of children already adopted from abroad by Irish citizens. These are desktop reviews requiring legal advices but are urgently required to regulate the status of children already adopted.

Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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Question 352: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of inter-country adoptions that have been granted to Irish couples since 1 November 2010 when the Adoption Act was enacted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38816/11]

Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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Question 353: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of inter-country adoptions that were granted to Irish couples in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 separately; the number of adoptions from corresponding states each year in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38821/11]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 352 and 353 together.

The Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI) has informed me that the following represents the number of entries in the Register of Intercountry Adoptions between 1 November 2010 and 1 November 2011;

- 203 in respect of Irish residents with Declarations

- 108 in respect of non-resident applicants seeking to have their foreign adoption recognised.

The Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI) has informed me that the Adoption Board, and subsequently the Adoption Authority, entered in the Register of Foreign Adoptions and latterly in the Register of Intercountry Adoptions, the following numbers of adoptions effected by Irish residents in possession of Declarations of Eligibility & Suitability to Adopt from Abroad;

Year Number of Registrations

2008 397

2009 307

2010 201

2011 200 to 1/11/2011

The following table shows the sending countries for intercountry adoptions for the years 2008 to 2011 to date;

Applications for an entry in the Register of Foreign Adoptions (known since 1/11/2010 as the Register of Intercountry Adoptions)

Section 5 Adoption Act 1991 & Section 90 Adoption Act 2010 - Applicants habitually resident in Ireland 2011 2010 2009 2008

Russia 117 80 100 117

Ethiopia 45 75 21 26

Vietnam - 10 136 182

Mexico 7 10 16 22

China 7 9 10 19

Colombia - - 1 1

USA 7 7 4 4

Cambodia - 3 - -

Thailand 1 2 6 11

Ukraine 1 2 2 9

Colombia 0 1 - -

Kazakhstan 6 1 7 4

Taiwan 4 1 2 -

Peru - - 1 -

Uzbekistan - - 1 -

Romania - - - 1

South Africa 1 - - 1

Belarus - - - -

Philippines 1 - - -

TOTAL 197 201 307 397