asked the Minister for Justice the number of applications that have been made to the courts to dispense with the consent of a natural mother to the making of an adoption order under section 3 of the Adoption Act, 1974; and the number of such applications (a) granted and (b) refused.
Written Answers. - Adoption Orders.
311.
To date there have been 21 such applications, of which 18 have been disposed of by the High Court and three are awaiting hearing.
Of the 18 applications which have been disposed of, 16 were successful and one was unsuccessful. Of the 16 successful cases, three have been appealed against to the Supreme Court and are awaiting hearing in that Court. In the remaining case no order was made as the High Court deemed an application under section 3 to be inappropriate in the circumstances of the case.