Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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1181. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated number of persons adopted here prior to the Adoption Act 1952; the number which were adoptions of Irish children that were arranged for families in the United States of America, Canada, Austrialia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom since 1952; the number of adoptions from 1922 to 1952; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36984/18]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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The Adoption Act 1952 established a statutory basis for adoption in Ireland and provided for the establishment of the Adoption Board, which is now the Adoption Authority of Ireland. The Authority holds all the records relating to domestic adoptions in Ireland from 1953 to the present day, which number approximately 45,000. Prior to 1952 there was no legal basis for adoption in Ireland. 

My Department does not hold statistics in relation to children who may have travelled from Ireland to be adopted abroad. However the Department is aware that there are records relating to this practice in the Department of Foreign Affairs. 

The Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016 provides for the Adoption Authority of Ireland to be responsible for collecting, restoring, preserving and safekeeping adoption records, including information relating to informal adoptions and persons whose birth was illegally registered.

The Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016 has passed Second Stage in the Seanad and it is my intention that the Bill will be enacted by the end of the year.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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1182. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when the scoping exercise into adoption was commenced by her Department; the number of adoption cases likely to be examined; if the adoption board, AAI, relevant Government Departments and their predecessors will be subject to examination; when she expects to examine the findings of the scoping report; the person carrying out the scoping exercise; the qualifications they have; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36986/18]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Following the discovery of clear evidence of incorrect registration in the St. Patrick's Guild records, I directed that an analysis of adoption records be carried out to establish whether there is sufficient reliable evidence of the practice of incorrect registration that can be extracted from the records of adoption agencies.

This review is being overseen independently by Marion Reynolds. Ms. Reynolds (MBE, Bsc, Dip Soc Work, CQSW, Cert Adv Soc Work) is a former Deputy Director of Social Services in Northern Ireland.  She has worked since 1975 at practitioner, management, inspection, policy development and commissioning levels in family and child care services in Northern Ireland.  She now provides independent analysis and reports for a range of social service providers in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The first meeting between Ms. Reynolds and the nominated representatives from Tusla and the Adoption Authority of Ireland took place in mid- June and I expect the final report within four months, i.e. by mid-October. 

There are an estimated 150,000 adoption records in existence and, of these, approximately 100,000 are currently in the custody of the State.  The review is focused on records in the custody of the State and a targeted sampling exercise in being carried out in the first instance owing to the volume of records involved. This targeted review will help to establish the extent of usable information that can be found in these historical records.  The review will provide information to assist me in identifying more fully the scale of incorrect birth registrations.

The full terms of reference of the review are available on my Department's website. 

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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1183. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of adoption records held by the State by category (details supplied) at which babies were given up for adoption; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36987/18]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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The Adoption Authority of Ireland holds all the records relating to domestic adoptions in Ireland from 1953 to the present day, of which are approximately 45,000. In addition there are approximately 100,000 records in the care of Tusla and the Adoption Authority of Ireland from former adoption societies.

While the records the Deputy has referenced are not adoption records, the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016 provides for the Adoption Authority of Ireland to be responsible for collecting, restoring, preserving and safekeeping of adoption records, including information relating to informal adoptions and persons whose birth was illegally registered.  It is possible that a number of these records of those institutions referenced in the Deputy's question, to the extent that they are relevant records under the legislation, will come in to the custody of the State under this legislation, if they are not already.

The Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016 has passed Second Stage in the Seanad and it is my intention that the Bill will be enacted by the end of the year.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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1184. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated number of siblings placed in fosterage or adoption; if her Department sought to provide for the reunification of separated siblings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36989/18]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I am advised by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, that figures on the number of siblings placed in foster care are not centrally collated at this time. The National Standards for Foster Care specify that siblings should be placed together where this is in their interest and within the advised limits of the number of children that can be placed in a foster home.

When a child enters foster care, the assessed needs and best interests of the child are Tusla's primary concern. 

Placement of sibling groups in foster care requires special consideration.  Tusla aims to prioritise the placing of sibling groups together in foster care through the matching of children’s assessed needs with that of the carers.  The assessment of need will indicate the needs of the child in relation to their sibling group and will support the matching process between the child/ siblings with the foster carers.

 In the event that sibling groups are not placed together Tusla will endeavour to support  placements within the same community or as close as possible to allow for  regular contact. 

Care planning for siblings entering, or about to enter care should assess the relationship between siblings, along with the needs and best interests of the children, and determine whether placing together or separately is the most appropriate option. A decision to place siblings separately must be supported by substantial evidence that such a placement is in the best interests of the children involved.