Dáil Éireann debate - Tuesday, 18 Feb 1992

Written Answers. - Foreign Adoption Assessments.

Ivan Yates

Question:

73 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Health his views on whether it is reasonable to expect parents wishing to adopt a baby overseas to have to wait 18 months to have their application processed under the new legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Health (Dr. O'Connell)

I presume the Deputy is referring to a statement issued by the Eastern Health Board about the time needed to clear the backlog of applications for foreign adoption assessments. This backlog has arisen because the Adoption Act 1991 imposed, for the first time, a statutory duty on the health boards to undertake assessments for foreign adoptions. Following its enactment the Eastern Health Board received a large number of requests for assessments from people wishing to adopt abroad. The board have some 75 firm applications on hands and intend to have all of the assessments completed within 18 months.

While I am determined that there will be no undue delay in processing applications, it has to be accepted that an assessment of a couple's suitability to adopt will inevitably take some time to complete.

The Adoption Board, to whom all assessments must be submitted for final approval, have advised the health boards and the adoption societies that the standard of assessment for a foreign adoption should be equivalent to that applicable to an Irish adoption. I understand that the average time taken to complete an assessment for an Irish adoption is about six months, although some cases can take considerably longer than this. Once the initial backlog of applications have been cleared, I would expect that a similar pattern will emerge in relation to assessments for foreign adoptions.