John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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662. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the action she has taken to date to prioritise the completion of an agreement between her Department and the Kazakhstan authorities under the Hague Convention to authorise the adoption of children from Kazakhstan; when an agreement is likely to be concluded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39841/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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The Adoption Authority of Ireland has advised me that a delegation from the Embassy of Kazakhstan in London attended a meeting in the Dublin with the Authority on 25th February 2016 to discuss the possibility of future adoptions from Kazakhstan.

At that meeting Kazakhstan indicated their openness to receiving an application for accreditation from an Irish adoption agency. The Authority requested Helping Hands Adoption Mediation Agency to begin the process of seeking accreditation in Kazakhstan. Helping Hands has submitted an application to Ministry of Justice in Kazakhstan and a decision on the application is pending. The Authority has advised that for inter-country adoption to be undertaken, the Kazakhstan authorities have stated that any accredited agency will be required to establish a permanent presence in Kazakhstan. The need, if any, for an administrative arrangement is not currently being addressed by the Authority pending the outcome of application for accreditation by Helping Hands.