asked the Minister for Justice if he is aware of the necessity and demand for legislation in regard to the adoption of children; and, if so, if he proposes to meet this demand at an early date.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Adoption of Children.
The suggestion that legislation should be introduced to confer full parental rights on persons who adopt children, to the exclusion of the actual parents, has been carefully examined. While I believe that, in a number of individual cases, this proposal would be advantageous, the result of my inquiries has been to convince me that there are serious difficulties in adopting the principle generally by way of legislation. In particular, it has not been found possible to devise any scheme which would afford satisfactory safeguards against the danger that the question of the child's religion might become involved in a controversial and undesirable manner. Unless this objection can be met, I do not propose to introduce legislation.