John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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125. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if the Adoption Authority of Ireland questions and compare fees across the different foreign adoption agencies given the huge variance in costs; if he will provide a breakdown on these approved fees, in particular, the article 15 and referral processing fees; if figures (details supplied) appear in order; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36128/14]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Ireland and the United States of America are both signatories to the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. Articles 15, 16 and 17 of the Convention outline how the Convention shall operate and states what agencies or bodies shall be responsible for the transmission of various documents between the two Contracting States. Initially the transmission of these documents is the responsibility of the National Central Authorities, but under Article 22 of the Convention, these functions can be delegated to approved Accredited Bodies. The involvement of accredited bodies in inter-country adoption is the norm, and accreditation of adoption agencies is accepted as one of the important safeguards introduced by the 1993 Hague Convention. It is an essential step to improve the quality and safety of inter-country adoptions now and in the future. Any private agency wishing to undertake inter-country adoptions in Convention States must be licensed by and accountable to a supervising or accrediting authority (the Adoption Authority in Ireland).

Currently, there are two Accredited Bodies registered by the Adoption Authority of Ireland to facilitate inter-country adoptions. Both have approval from the Adoption Authority to charge a Common Programme Fee of €6,500 per application. This fee applies to all applications and all countries. The fee covers the costs incurred by the agencies in respect of the overheads and costs incurred by them in Ireland. These costs include – staffing, accommodation, insurance, office supplies, staff training and maintenance of the client’s application. Activities covered include the transmission of the Adoption Authority’s Article 15 Assessments Report, the Article 16 Child Referral, the Article 17 Placement Agreement and the Article 23 Conformity Certificate, as well as client support during these activities. The Adoption Authority has advised that it is satisfied that based on figures supplied via the Hague Convention Permanent Bureau in The Hague, the approved Common Programme Fee is within the international norm.

With regard to inter-country adoptions from the U.S., the functions outlined in Articles 15, 16 and 17 have been delegated by the US Central Authority to a number of Adoption Service Providers and on the Irish side, those functions were delegated to Arc Adoption Limited. This delegation of functions was carried out pursuant to Section 66(2) of the Adoption Act 2010.

In addition to the Common Programme Fee referred to above, there are in-country costs. In the case of the United States of America, these costs are €1,600 for Arc Adoption Ltd., (to cover direct expenses - couriers, medical advisor and post-adoption reports coordination) and a figure of between €35,403 and €44,204 charged by the US Adoption Service Providers. These in-country costs to US Adoption Service Providers have previously been paid by prospective adopters directly to the Service Provider.

While the Adoption Authority publishes notices of the approved fee programmes on its website, comprehensive details and breakdowns are available from the accredited bodies themselves.