Finian McGrath
Ceist:129 Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children the position regarding a matter (details supplied). [37749/08]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 30 October 2008
Ceisteanna (129)
Freagraí scríofa
As the Deputy will be aware, requests for assessment for intercountry adoption assessments are continuously increasing. The Study on intercountry adoption, undertaken by the Children's Research Centre in Trinity College, revealed that Ireland has one of the highest rates for intercountry adoption in Europe. It is against this background that my Office is continuing to work to create the appropriate legislative, policy and administrative frameworks which will ensure a well regulated regime of adoption. Our aim is to support and protect prospective parents, and even more importantly, the children for whom adoption services are devised and provided.
The first priority is the ratification of the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Intercountry Adoption, 1993. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the Adoption Bill, 2008, which will ratify the Convention, will be published at the earliest opportunity. A core principle of the Hague Convention is that intercountry adoption should be child centred, that is, in all stages of the process the child's interests must be paramount. The Hague Convention has put in place the equivalent of a contract between states to regulate the standards that will apply in each jurisdiction. It is an additional safeguard for a receiving country like Ireland regarding the standards that are being applied in the sending country, over which we have no jurisdiction.
As a receiving country it is especially important to have some confidence in the process of consent to the adoption, the status of the child as adoptable and a guarantee of no improper financial gain from the process. Legislation and specifically the regime of the Hague Convention is at least some assurance for individual children, their families, and the State, that appropriate procedures have been followed and that the adoption was effected in the best interests of the child.
As regards the assessment process, a family that wishes to adopt should be recognised beforehand as able to promote, safeguard and support the development and well being of a child in need of adoption in a lasting manner. It should also be noted that increasing numbers of adopted children from abroad create additional pressures on intercountry adoption teams within the HSE. This is because these same teams provide post-adoption reports to the sending countries, at the request of those countries, with the agreement of the adoptive parents. This is an important component in the willingness of countries to consider Irish applicants for adoption.
Officials with my office have also been discussing the issue of preparedness for the new legislative framework with both the Adoption Board and the HSE. While our aim is to ensure that there is a seamless transition to the new regime, I am conscious that persons applying for intercountry adoption are experiencing delays in the assessment process. I acknowledge that there are delays in the waiting times for assessment, and that there are also concerns regarding the standardisation of the service across the country. I appreciate the frustration that these issues must cause.
The HSE has conducted a review of the intercountry adoption service. This review examined staffing, business processes, resources, strengths and options within the service. On foot of this report, HSE principal social workers have been having regular meetings, chaired by a senior manager, to discuss the streamlining of the service. The outcome of these discussions will be put into policy format by the end of this year. I understand that the Adoption Board has also taken on a programme of work to support the change process required to devise a more effective system of service delivery. The Board will be delivering a series of training sessions to HSE staff, and I am confident that this will greatly contribute to the standardisation of the service.
I want to assure the Deputy of my attention to this issue and reiterate the importance of a rigorous and effective assessment system, which is provided on a timely, fair and transparent basis.