Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the reason resources of the Health Service Executive are being expended in assessing persons suitability and eligibility for adoption, at considerable emotional pressure for the couples involved, only to have the Adoption Authority state that those who get the declaration of suitability, over 650 couples at present, are unlikely to complete an adoption. [1003/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Current adoption legislation requires the Health Service Executive to carry out an assessment in relation to a declaration of eligibility and suitability to adopt as soon as practicable following receipt of an application.

The Adoption Authority seeks to make prospective adopters aware of the facts regarding intercountry adoption. A large number of declarations are currently valid and several hundred are issued by the Authority each year. While the AAI is not in a position to influence the number of inter country adoptions, the age or needs of children in need of adoption or the length of time involved in such processes the Adoption Authority has been proactive in developing relationships with its Hague counterparts in a number of jurisdictions. The building of such relationships will help to bring greater clarity to the intercountry adoption process generally, including the timescales involved for adopting from different countries.

The reality is that the landscape of intercountry adoption is changing and for a variety of reasons the number of referrals of adoptable children has declined and therefore fewer adoptions are finalised each year than declarations issued. In this regard the AAI and the HSE are examining a range of issues in relation to assessments and the issuing of declarations. The relevant information on these matters will be published on the AAI website (www.aai.gov.ie).