Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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491. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to intercede on behalf of adoptive parents before the Section 63 Declarations of Eligibility and Suitability deadline of the 31 October 2013; if she will represent and voice individual parents cases to the respective international adoption agencies/representatives in an attempt to ensure the completion of these adoptions; if such discussions have taken place; and if she will provide details of the representations she has made on behalf of individual Irish adoptive parents. [39403/13]

Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)
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497. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the reason that in the case of adoptions from Russia, from which many Irish citizens are seeking to adopt children, a statutory prohibition on the time frame as the eligibility of an individual to become a parent applies, when it is an accepted fact that Russian adoptions are taking an exponentially long time and many potential parents are now facing the extra anguish of their eligibility expiring through no fault of their own; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39646/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 491 and 497 together.

I have the utmost concern for the position that the prospective adopters who were close to finalising adoptions from Russia now find themselves in following the recent changes to the Russian adoption process. I have received a large volume of representations on behalf of the applicants involved and I and my officials have actively been trying to assist those affected. Following queries I initiated through diplomatic channels the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation has confirmed to the Irish Embassy that new legislation came into force on 3rd July 2013 which requires a child to be on the national adoption database for twelve months before that child is deemed eligible for intercountry adoption and may be placed on an international adoption database. The previous period was eight months. I understand the purpose of the amendment is to extend the period during which possibilities for domestic adoption are considered.

The Adoption Act, 2010, provides for adoptions from countries that have ratified the Hague Convention on adoption and from countries where there is a bilateral agreement in place. During the drafting of the Act a considered and detailed transitional process to deal with the change from previous legislation to the new Act was put in place. The transitional measure contained in Section 63 of the Adoption Act, 2010, allows applicants with a valid declaration of eligibility and suitability to adopt who had commenced the adoption process at the time of the commencement of the Act to continue with that adoption, from a non-Hague, non-bilateral country. Such applicants were thus afforded an additional three year period to complete these particular adoptions from non-Hague countries, and must complete the process by the 31st October 2013. The Adoption Authority has advised that the time period to complete the adoption process in Russia is generally less than a year and a large number of applicants with Section 63 declarations have successfully adopted from Russia during the period of validity of these Section 63 declarations. The issue that has arisen is that the changes introduced by the Russian authorities mean that a small number of Irish applicants will not be able to conclude their adoption of a Russian child by the 31st October 2013.

In an effort to assist I have been using diplomatic channels to seek solutions for the applicants involved. These diplomatic channels have been used to fully outline the difficult situation these applicants have been put in following the change in Russian procedures and to explore possible solutions. The Irish Ambassador to Russia met with the Deputy Foreign Minister Titov in Moscow on 10th September 2013. The Ambassador has highlighted the concerns of the specific applicants. He has also outlined the position and noted our desire for a degree of flexibility in relation to the implementation of the changes recently introduced, which has affected a small number of Irish applicants who were at an advanced stage in the adoption process.

I have also recently met with the Embassy Attaché from the Russian Embassy to Dublin who was representing the Russian Ambassador to highlight the current difficulties the sudden change in Russian legislation has created. This meeting was positive and the Attaché indicated that officials from the Ministry of Education in Moscow are aware of the issues and are examining them closely. Amongst the representations I have received is a proposal to amend the Adoption Act, 2010 to address this situation. As the Act is drafted on the basis of the incorporation of the Hague Convention and the minimum set of standards outlined therein, the implications of amending the Adoption Act, 2010 must be carefully examined. Issues also arise in confining any such amendment to the cases immediately affected by the recent changes in Russia. Nevertheless, these legislative issues are receiving consideration by my Department in parallel with the ongoing engagement with the Russian authorities.