asked the Minister for Justice whether he will introduce legislation to enable a married couple, who are not of the same religion, to adopt children.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answer. - Legal Adoption.
29.
I have no such legislation in mind.
Does the Minister not agree that it is very unjust that a married couple of different denominations cannot adopt children even at the present time when adoption is so prevalent and is being encouraged so much by everybody in the country? Is it right that these people should be deprived of the right to adopt a child?
The position is that where the respective adoptive parents are of different denominations but both those denominations come from a specified group which contains most or nearly all of the major Protestant denominations the fact that the parents differ in denomination is not a bar to their adopting a child under the Act.
(Cavan): Is it not a fact that a number of members of the Adoption Board made representations to the Minister or his predecessor to deal with difficult and unusual cases of the nature mentioned in the Deputy's question? The Minister's predecessor turned down those recommendations.
I would have to have notice of that because it is a separate matter to the one raised in the question.
(Cavan): The Minister will find a large and interesting file on that.
May I ask the Minister if what he has said in fact means that a Catholic and a Protestant of a mixed marriage may adopt but that a Catholic and a person of any denomination other than the general Protestant denominations may not adopt?
I did not hear the first part of that.
A Catholic and a Protestant, husband and wife, may adopt—are we to take that from the Minister's statement—although a Catholic and a person of a denomination other than the major Protestant denominations may not adopt?
No, that is not correct.
What is the position?
I have already stated the position.
The record of this House will show that the Minister said——
We cannot have a discussion on this.
It would be better to wait until the Official Report appears.
The Minister said that where one of the proposed adoptive parents was of the major Protestant denominations, to use this general term, and where one was a Catholic——
I did not say that.
I will have to put down a question again.