Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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146. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the person who sanctioned the withdrawal of funding from Arc Adoption services; the basis on which this decision was made; the contingency plan that has been put in place to deal with the consequences of the withdrawal of this funding on families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39795/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The Department provided interim funding of €10,000 per month to Arc Adoption from January 2014 to May 2015 to assist with operational costs and to allow an opportunity to work towards a sustainable model of service provision. It was never the intention of the Department to fund the operational costs fully, and this was always made clear to Arc Adoption. This funding was suspended earlier this year, while consideration of a review of the arrangements for the provision of intercountry adoption services was under way.

The Adoption Authority of Ireland advised the Department in mid-September that Arc Adoption would not be seeking re-accreditation next year. The Department’s immediate concern was to ensure that there is a contingency plan in place, to ensure that any adoptions which are progressing are not adversely affected. With this in mind, the Minister approved operational funding for Arc Adoption up to a maximum of €40,000 on 14 October 2015, for a limited period, towards staffing and overhead costs to facilitate the transfer of case files to the Adoption Authority.

The Adoption Authority of Ireland is working with Arc Adoption regarding the transfer of client files to the Authority. The Adoption Authority and Arc Adoption meet on a weekly basis to review progress from the previous week and to plan for the week ahead. The Department also receives regular updates from both. The Adoption Authority of Ireland has advised the Department that one third of Arc Adoption’s client files have been transferred to the Authority to date, including 11 live case files which were transferred as a priority. The remaining client files are transferring on an agreed scheduled basis, with an expected completion date of November 20th.

Both the Adoption Authority and Arc Adoption have been in contact with clients to advise them of the current position. If clients have additional queries, a number of contact points within the Authority have been provided to them.