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Inter-Country Adoptions.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 December 2009

Tuesday, 15 December 2009

Questions (128)

Jimmy Deenihan

Question:

139 Deputy Jimmy Deenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children if she is satisfied with the procedure for the adoption of babies from India and the Philippines by couples here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46728/09]

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Written answers

Both India and the Philippines have ratified the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of inter-country Adoption. The annual report of the Adoption board for 2007 indicates that the board processed three adoptions from India and two from the Philippines under the Adoption Act 1952. The Adoption Bill 2009, is designed to give force of law in Ireland to the Hague Convention. The new legislation, which incorporates the provisions of the Hague Convention, is designed to provide a framework to ensure that appropriate procedures have been followed and that all adoptions are effected in the best interests of the child. Future inter-country adoption arrangements will be governed by the terms of the Adoption Bill 2009 when enacted.

The current policy position, as set out in the Adoption Bill 2009, is that for an adoption to be registered under the Bill it must be effected in a contracting State to the Hague Convention or in a country with which Ireland has a bilateral agreement. The issue of transitional measures for prospective parents who are at a definable stage in the adoption process when the Bill is enacted and who wish to continue to adopt a child from a non-Hague, non-bilateral country, is being examined. Prospective adoptive parents have waited a long time and it is my intention to be as flexible as possible in relation to applicants.

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