asked the Minister for Health if he will introduce legislation to clarify the circumstances in which Irish law recognises foreign adoption orders; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Foreign Adoption Orders.
15.
The recognition of foreign adoption orders is one of the issues being examined by the special committee which I established to review the existing statutory provisions relating to adoption. The question of introducing legislation to deal with the matter will be considered when the committee report to me early in the New Year.
In the context of adoption law reform, I urge the Minister to regard this matter as urgent in light of the fact that as a result of the reduction in the number of children available for adoption there are many couples who seek to adopt children outside the State but who are uncertain as to the legal position and as to legal rights between them and any children they might adopt.
The Deputy will be aware that the Adoption Board have made Irish adoption orders in respect of children who have been adopted abroad. In these cases the Adoption board effectively examine the matter as if it were an initial application for adoption under Irish law. However, I accept the point made by the Deputy because at the moment there is no general statutory provision for automatic recognition of foreign adoption orders. I share the Deputy's concern and also the concern of the Adoptive Parents Association of Ireland, some of whose members have adopted abroad. I am asking the review committee to deal with the issue and I expect to have their report in five to six weeks time.
Will the report of the working party be made available for publication and, if so, when is it likely to be published?
I had not considered that matter. The report will have to be considered by me in the first instance. I will then consult with the Attorney General in regard to it. Then I will have to bring it to the Government and it will be for them to decide whether to have it published.
In the light of the circumstances in which the Task Force on Child Care produced a report of which a portion related to law reform in the area of adoption, would the Minister not agree that if new legislation is to emerge in this area it is in the public interest that the contents of the report of the working party he set up be made available publicly? Can the Minister say if the recommendations contained in the report of the working party will be included in the Children Bill?
I assure the Deputy that it is my intention that the changes in relation to adoption will be incorporated in the Children Bill. This is one of the reasons for the delay in the publication of the Bill but I would be somewhat loath to commit myself at this stage to the publication of the review report. The Deputy will be aware that in the area of adoption there are matters of considerable confidentiality and sensitivity which can give rise to major fears on the part of parents who have adopted children or who are contemplating adopting, or on the part of children who have been adopted. In these circumstances I cannot commit myself to publishing the review committee's report without having seen it, having brought it to the Attorney General and to the Government. I assure the Deputy that there will be no question of trying to suppress the review report, a report that should be of major public interest.