Minister Andrews speech at International Adoption Association

Posted on 12/10/09 by Barry Andrews I want to begin this morning by thanking you for inviting me to speak to you today at your Annual Conference in what has been a challenging year in intercountry adoption in Ireland. When I spoke to you last year, I referred to the fact that intercountry adoption was a relatively new subject for me. I think it's fair to say that over the last year I have been on a steep learning curve.

A number of things have become clear to me over that period of time:-
• the enormous emotional investment required of people to even begin and certainly to get through the process;
• the overwhelming joy and sensitivity that adoptive parents show when they talk about the child or children that they have adopted.
• the complexity of adoption,
• the many and diverse views, often polarised or polarising that people sometimes have about adoption and particularly intercountry adoption;

I want to begin today by making a very clear statement to you to dispel some of the running commentary that has marked recent debate about intercountry adoption in Ireland. I wish to state, unequivocally, that I view intercountry adoption as a valuable form of alternative care for children in the modern world. The research conducted and published by the Children's Research Centre and the Adoption Board bears this out. The study found that given the conditions in which the adopted children had typically spent their earliest months or years, most children had made an extraordinary recovery. This leaves me in no doubt that the best interests of these children can be served by having the opportunity of loving homes here in Ireland. The same opportunities can be provided to other children and I intend to continue to develop the system, which will support that.

Notwithstanding that strongly held view, there is another equally important view that I hold. There is a shared responsibility between nations in developing and maintaining ethical intercountry adoption practices. This is not something we can leave to "sending" countries. The best system for Ireland and, I believe, for you and your families, combines these two key principles.

One of the most important steps forward for Ireland is to continue to develop the appropriate regulatory system for intercountry adoption. If we want to protect the interests of children and your families we need to ensure that a robust regulatory framework is in place to underpin safe and secure adoption. The Adoption Bill, 2009 published in January of this year, provides a much improved framework for intercountry adoption. This is a badly needed piece of legislation. While current law and practices regulate the process of assessment very well and the registration of adoptions, the new Bill clearly sets out every aspect of the process and brings the Hague Convention into Irish Statute law.

The Government has been criticised for failing to ratify the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption before now. It is a criticism that we must accept. I am delighted at the progress that has been made in the past year, including the publication of the Bill and its passage through the Seanad. I hope to bring the Bill into the Dáil in the coming weeks and I remain hopeful that Ireland will finally ratify the Hague Convention early in 2010; and not before time.

Some have viewed the passage of the Bill as an obstacle to intercountry adoption. There is obvious concern that countries which are now open for intercountry adoption will close on enactment of the Bill. While Russia and Ethiopia are two obvious countries that are unlikely to have signed Hague before we ratify the Convention, there are over 75 countries, which at this time, have ratified the Convention. In the absence of a bilateral agreement with countries, which haven't ratified Hague, adoptions cannot be effected with the Adoption Board post the enactment of the Bill. However, rather than view Hague as a barrier to intercountry adoption, it should be seen as a positive step on the road to better practices which affords greater protection. It should also be remembered that when we ratify Hague a number of countries, which are have already ratified will, I understand, be willing to consider Irish applicants. For example, while applicants may adopt from Brazil on an ad hoc basis, Ireland's ratification would provide greater certainty from the Brazilian point of view for more structured co-operation; some Eastern European countries are also likely to be more open to approaches from Irish applicants.

Many of you are painfully aware of our efforts to negotiate a strengthened bilateral agreement with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. I am not going to rehearse here the detail of what has been happening over the last year or more. In good faith, my clear intention at the start of the process was to seek to work with the Vietnamese authorities to strengthen our arrangements reflecting our mutual desire to address concerns, which were being raised regarding processes in Vietnam. The publication of the MoLISA report and the pending ISS report require pause for careful consideration. The next steps have to be right steps not just from the point of view of prospective adoptive parents but for the long term future of all children in Vietnam. I have already said I will await the finalisation of the ISS report before making decisions and I have also committed to communicating directly with the representative groups as soon as there are developments. More than anything else, people want certainty. They want to know where they stand in order to get on with their lives and make life choices. While I cannot today indicate the Government's likely decision in relation to Vietnam, I am pledging that there will be no delay in making a decision once the finalised ISS report has been received.

Issues have also arisen with regard to the Russian Federation. In relation to post-placement reports, an extensive examination of a list of required post-placement reports was carried out by the Health Service Executive and the Adoption Board. The Adoption Board has written to the Russian Embassy arising from this examination. I understand that the greater number of the outstanding reports have been completed and are with the adoptive parents for translation, apostilling and notarisation - that is, the social workers have already conducted the home visit and the report. In a small number of cases, parents have neglected or have been unwilling or unable to arrange for a home visit with their social worker. Further contact has been made again to arrange for all outstanding visits to be undertaken and is being prioritised by the Health Service Executive Adoption Services to ensure that the parents can have the required reports forwarded to the Russian Embassy in Dublin. I want to urge any of you here today who may have overlooked sending on your reports or who may not yet have followed up on the completion of those reports to think about the potential effects on future adoptions. For my part, I am committed to ensuring that there is no delay on the part of the HSE or the Adoption Board in their role.


My officials have been doing some preparatory work on possible bilateral agreements with both Russia and Ethiopia. Consideration of these two countries is at an early stage and, unfortunately, has been slow because of the workload involved in trying to advance Vietnam. I hope to make further decisions regarding progress in these areas in the not too distant future.

I am extremely aware of how confusing this all seems for applicants who want to know "which country?" This is an issue that your committee has been bringing to my attention.

One thing that has struck me over recent months is the fluid nature of intercountry adoption and that the sands, so to speak, are constantly shifting. The need for applicants to show a knowledge of and commitment to the country of origin of their prospective adoptee is important. However, it is imperative that the HSE and the Adoption Board show sensitivity and flexibility regarding country choice and I have raised this with both sides. Given the changing nature of intercountry adoption and recognising that countries "open" and "close" over time, I think there is a need to raise awareness around the fact that the parent's original country of choice may not be the eventual country from where the child is adopted. Put simply, I think prospective adoptive parents should be made fully aware that while they may start out with the intention to adopt from Country A that they may end up adopting from Country B, in some cases. I believe that it is of the utmost importance that this is made clear to parents before they set out on the path to intercountry adoption. The HSE's role in this regard is pivotal and it's something that I have raised, and will continue to raise, with the HSE.

I think we also need to be honest and accept that there are reasons behind decisions to close countries and reasons why we need to be cautious about allowing applicants to proceed to certain countries. Overall, it is about ensuring the highest possible standards for the adoption process. As happened in the past with Vietnam, the sending country can also decide to close. I referred earlier to the research conducted by the Children's Research Centre. The study extended beyond an examination of the physical and emotional well being of the children surveyed. It also looked at children's attitudes and interests in their birth families. Within all age groups a majority wished to know more about their birth families, particularly about their birth mother and siblings. Though this finding received little attention at the time of the research's publication, in my opinion it is a vitally important element of the child's perception and experience of intercountry adoption. It reaffirms, for me, the need to put in place safeguards that protect against weak and unacceptable practices in systems between countries. There comes a time in all of our lives when we enquire about our backgrounds and seek information about our families' circumstances. The desire to learn more about one's past is surely all the more pronounced when born in another country. The point I'm trying to make is that children grow and they ask questions. They ask about their biological parents and the circumstances surrounding their birth. It is at this point that protections around consent and other procedures come into focus. These children will in time examine the details of their adoptions and will ask did the people with responsibility for adoption in this country and the country of their birth strive to put the best systems in place to provide for safe and ethical adoptions. This is a responsibility that I and the Government take very seriously.

I know that for many people the stress of this process is compounded by the very lengthy time they spend waiting for an assessment. What's more, that experience varies around the country. I have said publicly that I believe that the current system is not functioning to the level that I expect. I have asked the Health Service Executive to review and respond to the current build-up in a fresh way and I understand from the HSE that work is under way to streamline processes and to remove unnecessary obstacles in the system. In the current climate, it is clear that there are limits to what can be achieved within the current resource allocation. This is why I am also pleased that the new Bill sets out a whole new system for accredited agencies, which fully reflects the very different nature of the intercountry process and the need to have a range of agencies which are properly accredited to provide those services. This, of course, includes assessment services. There is further work to be done in setting out in more detail the regulatory framework but I believe this will provide the opportunity to release some of the pressure in the system. I signalled earlier in the year that I would welcome a new agency and I am heartened that there is interest in establishing such an agency.

You have a very full morning ahead of you and a really interesting line-up of speakers; so I won't take any more of your time. In conclusion, I just want to say that while we may not always agree on the approach and have extremely robust exchanges, I want to thank both Brian and Shane for their input over the last year. I appreciate very much the well-thought out, professional and respectful approach adopted by the IAA and its committee. They do extremely important work on your behalf in supporting families and children in Ireland and in keeping a focus on the intercountry adoption agenda.