asked the Minister for Finance whether he is aware that, where a child is lawfully adopted under the laws of another country but has not been adopted under the provisions of the Irish Adoption Acts, such a child is treated as a stranger in blood for the purposes of estate duty and legacy duty; and if, in view of the hardship caused by these provisions, he will introduce amending legislation.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Estate and Legacy Duty.
21.
Adoption is not relevant in determining the rate of estate duty, which depends solely on the value of the dutiable estate. The rate at which legacy duty or succession duty is chargeable is, however, determined by the relationship of the beneficiary to the predecessor.
For the purposes of the abatements of estate duty granted by section 45, Finance Act, 1969, and for the purposes of legacy and succession duties, a child adopted under Irish law is treated as the lawful child of the adopters. Adoption under the laws of another country, which may differ radically from the conditions for legal adoption in this country, has not this effect.
I do not propose to introduce amending legislation on the lines which the Deputy appears to have in mind.
Can the Minister suggest any way in which this matter could be dealt with, apart from introducing amending legislation?
Just give it.
It may seem simple to the Deputy but this is not the case. The conditions which apply here for legal adoption are very stringent. In some countries they are not by any means as stringent and anything on the lines suggested here could affect not only rights and liabilities in regard to estate duty but the right to inherit under intestacy. There would be serious objection if this were to be affected without having regard to the manner in which the person becoming so entitled became entitled—in other words, under much less stringent laws than we have here. That is in response to Deputy Belton's remark. In reply to Deputy Clinton, I would say the only method I can see by which it could be done would be in specific cases where we could ensure a reasonable degree of reciprocity. We might be able to get an arrangement in such a case but not across the board.
Could individual cases be examined on their merits and if adoption was found to be similar to Irish adoption, could that be accepted?
I would be prepared to have that examined. This is what I have in mind.