Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 December 2015
361. Deputy Ruairí Quinn asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the plans that have been put in place in relation to the winding down of Arc Adoption; and the number of foreign adoptions that took place over the five years prior to November 2011. [42341/15]
View answerArc Adoption was accredited by the Adoption Authority of Ireland to provide adoption mediation services on February 8th 2011. Since accreditation, Arc Adoption has facilitated 13 adoptions. The Adoption Authority of Ireland advised my Department in mid-September that Arc Adoption would not be seeking re-accreditation next year. The Department’s immediate concern was to ensure that there is a contingency plan in place, to ensure that any adoptions which are progressing are not adversely effected. With this in mind, I approved operational funding for Arc Adoption up to a maximum of €40,000 on 14 October 2015, for a limited period, towards staffing and overhead costs to facilitate the transfer of case files to the Adoption Authority.
The Adoption Authority of Ireland has been working with Arc Adoption regarding the transfer of client files to the Authority. The Adoption Authority of Ireland has advised my Department that all of Arc Adoption’s client files have now been transferred to the Authority.
Both the Adoption Authority and Arc Adoption have been in contact with clients to advise them of the current position. If clients have additional queries, a number of contact points within the Authority have been provided to them.
I am advised by the Adoption Authority of Ireland that the total number of entries in the Register of Intercountry Adoptions in the five years prior to November 2011 is 1,576 are broken down by year below:
|
Year |
Number of entries in the Register of Intercountry Adoptions |
|
2006 |
298 |
|
2007 |
394 |
|
2008 |
397 |
|
2009 |
307 |
|
2010 |
200 |
