Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 3 Jun 1993

Vol. 431 No. 8

Written Answers. - Foreign Adoptions Delay.

Alan Shatter

Question:

59 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Health the reason for the delay being experienced by couples seeking health board assessment for foreign adoption; the steps, if any, the Government proposes to take to tackle this problem; and the arrangements made, if any, to facilitate the adoption by Irish couples of Romanian children with the Romanian Central Authority.

Minister for Health (Mr. Howlin):

I fully appreciate the anxiety of couples wishing to adopt a child abroad to have an assessment of their suitability carried out by the relevant health board, in accordance with the Adoption Act, 1991. I am satisfied that the health boards' social work services are responding as expeditiously as possible to requests for such assessments, bearing in mind the competing demands on those services particularly in relation to the investigation of allegations of child abuse which must take priority over all other work. The Deputy will be aware that the Government has set aside an additional £5 million for child care in the current year. This will permit the creation of additional social worker and other community based child care specialist posts which in turn will improve the capacity of the services to respond to demands, including assessments for foreign adoptions.

In relation to future arrangements for the adoption of Romanian children by Irish residents, my Department has been examining a revised draft agreement received from the Romanian Committee for Adoptions. An official of my Department recently met the chairman of that committee to clarify a number of points. The proposed agreement is receiving further consideration in the light of that meeting.

I would like to avail of this opportunity to outline some of the main points to emerge from the discussions with the Romanian authorities. the categories of children most likely to be available for adoption from Romania include older children in institutional care and children with handicaps. These children would be at least one year of age and the majority of them would be older than four years.

For administrative reasons, the Romanian Committee for Adoptions will only process five applications at a time from a particular country. This means that if Ireland enters into an adoption agreement with Romania, the first batch of five applications from Irish residents whose eligibility and suitability to adopt has been determined by the Adoption Board in accordance with the Adoption Act, 1991, must be dealt with by the committee before the next batch can be transmitted. Moreover, no couple will be allowed to travel to Romania to adopt unless they have been approved by the committee and it will be that committee which will select the children.

I might also mention that, in accordance with the requirements of their internal law, the Romanian authorities are insisting that prospective adopters give an undertaking in writing that a total of five follow-up reports on the adopted child's progress in their care be sent to the Romanian Committee for Adoption over a period of 24 months following the adoption.

I hope the Deputy will appreciate that the proposed agreement is a complex matter which, of necessity, is taking some time to conclude. I shall be seeking the approval of this House in due course to the State becoming a party to the agreement in accordance with Article 29 of the Constitution.