The Adoption Bill 2009, which is designed to give force of law to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Inter-country Adoption, has passed through the Seanad. The Bill is scheduled to commence its Second Stage process in Dáil Éireann on 18 November. As I have stated on many previous occasions, under the new legislation, prospective adoptive parents will be able to adopt from countries that have also ratified the Hague Convention and from countries with which Ireland has a bilateral agreement that meets Hague standards.
I should also emphasise that there are transitional provisions contained in the Bill. The issue of further transitional measures for prospective parents who are at an advanced stage in the adoption process, when the Bill is enacted, and who wish to continue with an adoption from a non-Hague, non-bilateral country, has been raised with me by representative groups. I am currently examining this and other related matters. There are no proposals in the legislation to restrict adoptions to a specific country after the Hague Convention has been ratified once the necessary standards are met.
I firmly believe that legislation and, specifically, the regime of the Hague Convention, provides an 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. For non-Hague countries only those adoptions effected prior to the commencement of the new law can be registered on the Register of Inter-Country Adoptions to be established under the Bill.
