Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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787. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her attention has been drawn to the case of persons (details supplied) in County Louth; if her Department provided funding to repay a number of refundable registration fees; if so, the amount of funding which was allocated; if the persons will also be refunded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37574/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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My Department provided Arc Adoption with €10,000 in July 2014, to assist with its cashflow problems and enable it to refund 3 clients who were due repayment of their refundable registration fees at that time. Arc Adoption is a company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital and operates on a “not-for-profit basis”. The fees in question were paid as part of an agreement between Arc Adoption and its clients.

My Department was not party to this agreement and having taken legal advice on the matter, has been advised that it has no legal responsibility for repayment of these fees. This is a complex issue which has been given detailed consideration by both myself and my officials in the Department. While I regret the time involved in reaching this decision, it was necessary to clarify a number of issues, including legal ones, to ensure that I could make a fully informed decision. After careful consideration of all the facts, the decision was made not to provide funding to repay the registration fees owed to clients of Arc Adoption. My Department has written to the persons referred to by the Deputy and advised them of the decision.