Vol. 483 No. 1
185 Mr. Noonan asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason there is a delay in finalising the interstate agreement between Ireland and Romania in view of the fact that it is deemed necessary to provide an adequate legal framework for the adoption of Romanian babies by Irish citizens; if adoptions already agreed will go ahead pending the finalising of these arrangements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19773/97]
In 1994 the Minister for Health signed an agreement on Working Arrangements for the Co-ordination of InterCountry Adoption with the Romanian Committee for Adoption. This committee was dissolved earlier this year and a new committee established in Romania.
In July of this year the new Romanian Committee for Adoption forwarded a new draft agreement to the Adoption Board. No advance notification was received in writing or otherwise from the Romanian committee of its intention to withdraw from the original agreement. Paragraph 11 of the 1994 agreement states that either party may terminate the agreement by giving three months notice in writing to the other party of this intention and that such termination will not affect the completion of adoptions already in progress. It would appear that the Romanian authorities have suspended all adoptions of Romanian children by Irish couples pending the signing of the new agreement.
The new draft agreement was examined by both my Department and the Adoption Board and it was agreed that a number of minor amendments should be proposed. My Department wrote to the Romanian Government in mid September 1997, enclosing a draft of the proposed amendments. The Romanian Committee for Adoptions has recently agreed the changes proposed by this Department and it is my intention to bring the final text of the agreement before Government shortly.
