John McGuinness
Question:15. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to bring forward new measures on adoption; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38699/13]
View answerThursday, 19 September 2013
Questions (15, 165)
Brendan Griffin
Question:165. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views regarding the 2010 adoption legislation (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38941/13]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 165 together.
The Adoption Act, 2010, which entered into force on 1 November 2010, gives force of law to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. The Act was written against the backdrop of the of the Hague Convention and a commitment to improving standards outlined in the Convention. The Hague principles of subsidiarity, support for birth families, free and informed consent for birth parents, and international adoption as a resource for the permanent care of children, are a means for improving standards in intercountry adoption and mitigating against some of the risks inherent in intercountry adoption.
There are two existing legislative commitments in the Adoption Area. The first is to provide, in a more effective and appropriate way, for the adoption of children of marriage. The Adoption (Amendment) Bill were made published Children's Referendum and will be introduced as soon as proceedings and processes relevant to the Referendum are concluded.
The second piece of adoption legislation which is being prepared is the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill. These issues are currently being examined within my Department and within the Office of the Attorney General. It is my intention is to bring the Heads of Bill before Government at the earliest possible date to seek approval to refer this legislation to the Oireachtas Health and Children Committee for discussion.
The Adoption Act 2010 has been in operation for nearly three years now. Since taking office I have made improvements to the operation of the scheme, without the need to amend legislation following consultation with the Adoption Authority of Ireland and the Health Service Executive. In particular I have streamlined the assessment process for those seeking to transfer from declarations of eligibility and suitability to adopt which are due to expire before the 31st of October 2013. Furthermore I have moved to address the issue of the sustainability, and funding, of accredited bodies. In this matter interim funding has been provided to specific bodies and I am seeking agreement from these agencies on a pathway to securing a sustainable model for accredited bodies in the future.
Since the implementation of the Act, as is often the case with complex legislation, issues have arisen in relation to the operation of the Act. There are also more general policy questions around the nature of our adoption regime, with for example some seeing the development of options for an open adoption regime domestically as worthy of consideration. In the circumstances I think it is timely to consider a review of adoption. Given the range and complexity of the issues this will require scoping and preliminary examination after which decisions will be made on the extent and time scale for the review. I do not know at this stage if proposals for legislative change will emerge from this review or the nature of such proposals. Based upon the many domestic and international legal aspects to adoption the issue of further legislative development will certainly be considered. This review will inform future operational and legislative considerations regarding the Adoption Act 2010.