Paul Nicholas Gogarty
Question:335 Mr. Gogarty asked the Minister for Health and Children the reasons for the suspension of inter-country adoptions between Belarus and Ireland. [14469/04]
View answerTuesday, 18 May 2004
Questions (321, 322)
Paul Nicholas Gogarty
Question:336 Mr. Gogarty asked the Minister for Health and Children if the process of reinstating inter-country adoptions between Belarus and Ireland will be speeded up by governmental intervention, in view of the delay by the Irish Adoption Board in fulfilling its obligations under the bilateral agreement between both States, including the delay in the issuing of its letter of guarantee to Belarus, the distress the extremely long process is causing to a number of families and in view of the fact that yet another month will go by if the documentation for some couples is not ready for diplomatic posting by the end of May 2004; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14470/04]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 335 and 336 together.
The Adoption Board entered into a working agreement with Belarus in 1999 to facilitate the adoption of children from Belarus to Ireland. The Adoption Board has informed me that the Belarussian authorities have raised a number of issues that are being followed up. This is the second time that the Belarussian authorities have suspended the acceptance of applications from Irish applicants. The issue about the deed of guarantee for post-placement reports has been resolved and a current deed is with the Belarussian authorities. Two outstanding issues remain. The choice of facilitators used by Irish applicants, which were previously agreed to by the Belarussian authorities, was a matter for Irish applicants. The Belarussian authorities are also concerned by the alleged rejection by Irish applicants of referrals of children, although few referrals are rejected by Irish applicants.
The Adoption Board has contacted the director of the Belarussian national adoption centre and the deputy minister in the Belarussian ministry of education for clarification on the exact nature of the problems. The board has requested an urgent meeting with the Belarussian authorities to resolve the issues which have been raised. In the meantime, the board has asked the Belarussian authorities to continue to accept adoption applications from Irish applicants, pending the meeting between both parties. The Irish Embassy in Moscow, which has responsibility for Belarus, is in contact with the Belarussian authorities in an effort to ensure the speedy resumption of adoptions. The Adoption Board will advise applicants as soon as it receives an update on the situation.