Finian McGrath
Question:328 Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children if she will support a matter (details supplied). [4866/09]
View answerTuesday, 10 February 2009
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The Adoption Bill, 2009, which will give force of law to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, was published on Friday 23 January, 2009. Under the new legislation, prospective adoptive parents will be able to adopt from countries which have also ratified the Hague Convention, and countries with which Ireland has a bilateral agreement which meets Hague standards.
My Office is currently working on drafting a bilateral agreement with Vietnam and is also examining the possibility of negotiating bilateral agreements with the Russian Federation and Ethiopia. As regards the Russian Federation, there have been informal discussions through normal diplomatic channels regarding a bilateral agreement. My Office is also undertaking preparatory work to consider the contents of such an agreement, including anticipating the likely requirements of the Russian Federation.
While every effort will be made to conclude a bilateral agreement in advance of any of the proposed changes in Irish law taking effect, it must be acknowledged that these matters will be determined to a considerable degree by the Government of the Russian Federation.