Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 15 Nov 1994

Vol. 447 No. 1

Ceisteanna—Questions. Written Answers. - Foreign Adoption.

Liz McManus

Question:

290 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Health if the law on foreign adoption will be amended to accord with the recently agreed Hague Convention on the subject, as stated in his Department's strategy document, Shaping a Healthier Future; if this will enable the recognition of the foreign adoption of all children now resident in the State for several years but currently banned under this country's foreign adoption legislation; the reason, current legislation on the recognition takes no account of the standards observed by adoptive couples while adopting abroad, thereby banning adoptions of a high standard and yet granting automatic recognition in cases where standards were known to be far from satisfactory; if his attention has been drawn to any other country which ban the adoption of children solely on the grounds of their country of origin; his views on whether this practice is potentially damaging to the children and families so affected; his views on whether discrimination of this kind under the law is acceptable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3004/94]

Minister for Health (Mr. Howlin)

The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, which was completed last year, provides, among other matters, for the recognition by countries which are parties to the Convention of intercountry adoptions which take place under and in accordance with the requirements of the Convention. More than 60 countries, including Ireland, participated in the preparation of the Convention. As is indicated in the National Health Strategy, I am committed to amending current adoption legislation so as to enable the Convention to be ratified here. However, the Convention does not provide for the recognition, on a retrospective basis, of foreign adoptions already completed.

The existing law on the recognition of foreign adoptions is set out in the Adoption Act, 1991. Broadly speaking, adoptions which are effected in countries which operate systems of legal adoption similar to our own qualify for recognition under the 1991 Act. A central requirement for recognition is that the foreign adoption must have essentially the same legal effect as an Irish adoption in relation to the termination and creation of parents rights and duties. Where a foreign adoption is recognised, it is accorded the same legal status as a domestic adoption order, that is to say the child is regarded in law as the child of the adopters as if born to them within marriage.

I want to make it perfectly clear that the current law on the recognition of foreign adoptions is in no way discriminatory against certain foreign countries or foreign children. The entitlement of an adoption effected abroad to recognition is determined by reference to the criteria set out in the definition of a foreign adoption contained in the Adoption Act, 1991 and the country of origin of the child has no bearing whatsoever on the matter.