Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 555: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will report on the current situation regarding inter country adoptions with Belarus; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29174/12]

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 562: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs his plans to initiate a formal adoption agreement with Belarus; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29484/12]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 555 and 562 together.

Belarus has ratified the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. However, adoptions between Ireland and Belarus cannot take place due to compatibility issues between the laws of Ireland and Belarus. This arises because the Belarussian requirement for legislative underpinning of post placement reporting would not be compatible with Constitutional provisions here.