Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 9 Nov 1993

Vol. 435 No. 6

Ceisteanna — Questions Written Answers. - Suitability of Adoptive Parents.

Alan Shatter

Ceist:

100 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Health the guidelines, if any, that have been issued by him to health boards with regard to prescribing the cut-off age above which people will be excluded from being assessed for either domestic adoptions or foreign adoptions or determined as being unsuitable for either foreign or domestic adoptions; if he will publish any such guidelines; and his views on whether it is in the public interest that unpublished guidelines without a statutory basis are applied in determining whether couples or individuals should be assessed as prospective adoptive parents.

Minister for Health (Mr. Howlin)

I have no function in relation to assessment of the suitability of prospective adopting parents and I have not issued any guidelines to the health boards in the matter.

I understand that the Adoption Board recently issued revised guidelines to the adoption agencies in relation to the operation of the statutory procedures set out in the Adoption Act, 1991, including the assessment of people for foreign adoptions.

The board expects assessments for foreign adoptions to be of an equivalent standard to that applicable in the case of domestic adoptions. In the case of a domestic adoption, where either or both of the adopting parents are over 40 years of age and are adopting for the first time, the board requires a report from the placing agency setting out the special factors taken into consideration by the agency in deciding to place a child with the couple. The revised guidelines recently issued by it accordingly make it clear that a similar report should be furnished by the adoption agency recommending the approval of such a couple for a foreign adoption.

While the board's guidelines were prepared specifically for the assistance of adoption agency personnel involved in the operation of the procedures set out in the 1991 Act, I have asked the board to forward a copy to the Deputy.