Written answers

Wednesday, 11 January 2012

Department of Health

Inter-Country Adoptions

8:00 pm

Photo of Peter MathewsPeter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 775: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will use section 73 of the Adoption Act to ensure that it is possible for adoptions from Ethiopia to take place; if she will begin arrangements to enter into a bilateral agreement with Ethiopia while discussions with Russia are ongoing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40966/11]

Photo of Brian WalshBrian Walsh (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Question 778: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will provide her consent for the Adoption Authority of Ireland to commence negotiations with Ethiopia regarding a bilateral adoption agreement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41049/11]

Photo of Charlie McConalogueCharlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 779: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the position regarding the adoption by Irish citizens of children from countries that are not signed up to the Hague Convention; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41081/11]

Photo of Charlie McConalogueCharlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 780: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the position regarding Irish citizens who were in the advanced stages of adopting a child from countries not currently signed up to the Hague Convention before Ireland decided to discontinue processing adoptions from countries that had not signed up to the convention; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41082/11]

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 782: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will provide an update on plans to enter into a bilateral agreement with Ethiopia regarding intercountry adoption; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41267/11]

Photo of John DeasyJohn Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Question 801: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to authorise the Adoption Authority of Ireland to commence negotiations with the Ethiopian authorities to allow continued adoption from that country; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that other countries which have enacted the Hague Convention continue to effect adoptions from Ethiopia even though Ethiopia has yet to enact the Hague Convention; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1244/12]

Photo of John DeasyJohn Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Question 802: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to authorise the Adoption Authority of Ireland to commence negotiations on a bilateral agreement with Ethiopia; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1245/12]

Photo of Seán KyneSeán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Question 804: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if and when consent will be given to the Adoption Authority of Ireland to open negotiations with Ethiopia with the aim of establishing a bilateral agreement between the two countries and thereby facilitate a resumption of intercountry adoption which is sought by a number of Irish couples, particularly those who had previously adopted a child from Ethiopia. [1264/12]

Photo of Frances FitzgeraldFrances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 775, 778 to 780, inclusive, 782, 801, 802 and 804 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 intercountry 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 ."

Before Christmas I wrote to the AAI giving approval for the commencement of the process of examining the feasibility of a bilateral agreement with Ethiopia. The AAI have confirmed that, with the assistance of the Irish embassy in Addis Ababa, they have sought an expert legal narrative and description of the current Ethiopian adoption law. This will be examined by the AAI to test for compatibility and compliance with the Adoption Act 2010.

As the Hague Convention is designed to ensure a minimum set of standards in intercountry 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 intercountry adoption. The AAI have also recently visited Mexico and are visiting 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 held exploratory meetings with the Russian authorities in December. A delegation visited Russia in relation to preliminary discussions around the potential for a bilateral on intercountry adoption. This was 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.

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