Abstract
This chapter begins with a brief history of the adoption process in Ireland and an account of the main influences that have combined to shape its current social role. This leads into an overview of contemporary law, policy and practice, as governed by the Adoption Act 2010. The chapter then applies the template of legal functions (see, Chap. 3) to outline the adoption process, identify and assess its distinctive characteristics and facilitate a comparative analysis with other jurisdictions. It considers the reasons for and consequences of the distinctive characteristics of adoption in this jurisdiction. It incorporates recent important case law precedents and assesses the outcome of the adoption reform process. In conclusion, some observations are made about the representativeness and significance of the characteristics of the adoption process in Ireland.
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- 1.
On July 14, 2010, President Mary McAleese signed the Adoption Act 2010 onto the statute books.
- 2.
The annual reports of the Adoption Board (or An Bord Uchtála), available from Government Publications, Molesworth St. Dublin, provide a useful and comprehensive source of information on adoption in Ireland.
- 3.
See, for example, Kelly, F. 1988. Early Irish law. Dublin: Dublin Institute of Administration Studies.
- 4.
See, Gilligan, R. 1991. Irish child care services: Policy practice and provision. Dublin: Institute of Public Administration.
- 5.
See, Kelly, F., Early Irish law, op cit.
- 6.
Ibid, at p. 105 where the author explains that adoption was originally a contract bound by sureties and ratified by the head of the kin. See also pp. 86–90 for an interesting account of the importance of ‘fosterage’ in early Irish society and the respective duties of foster child and foster parent according to their rank in society.
- 7.
See, Robbins, J. 1980. The lost children: A study of charity children in Ireland 1700–1900.
- 8.
See, Benet (1976) at p. 60. Also, Eekelaar, J., Family law and social policy (1984) and Gilligan, R., (1991).
- 9.
See, Central Statistics Office at: http://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/mcp/marriagesandcivilpartnerships2011/#.UywQJhbePFI
- 10.
The 2011 census showed that the number of divorced people had increased by 150.3 % since 2002. In 2011, 2,819 divorce applications and 1,049 separation applications were granted.
- 11.
- 12.
In June 2013, the Irish government offered a public apology—and agreed to pay €34.5 million in compensation—for the years of unpaid labour and public shame endured by the estimated 770 survivors of more than 10,000 young mothers who lived in a dozen such facilities from the 1920s to 1996.
- 13.
See, Harrington, K., New BBC series to look at Irish mothers forced to give up their babies. The Irish Post, which reports that the bodies of some 800 babies and infants were found in a burial pit at one mother and baby home in Tuam. See, further, at: http://www.irishpost.co.uk/news/philomena-journalist-lands-new-bbc-series-irelands-lost-babies
- 14.
See, Milotte, M. 2014. Banished babies: The secret history of Ireland’s baby export business. Stillorgan, Co Dublin: New Island Press.
- 15.
See, The 2013 Oscar-nominated film Philomena, about an Irish mother forced to give up her son for adoption. Ms. Philomena Lee, a teenager in 1952, was consigned to the care of Catholic nuns in Ireland after she became pregnant and, like an estimated 60,000 other young Irish women, had her baby removed and adopted and was thereafter required to repent for the shame of having had an out-of-wedlock child.
- 16.
Note that in February 2014 a report by the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child urged the Vatican to conduct an investigation into the Magdalene laundries. Given that at least one priest facilitating the U.S. adoptions of Irish children was a paedophile, the term ‘trafficking’ is not inappropriate.
- 17.
See, Central Statistics Office.
- 18.
The Annual Report on Vital Statistics reveals that 6,019 births were registered as outside marriage in the 3rd quarter of 2007; accounting for 32.4 % of all births.
See www.cso.ie. Also, see CDC National Center for Health Statistics, 2009 report which finds an increase from 5 to 33 % between 1980 and 2007 at: http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2009/r090513.htm
- 19.
See, the Regulation of Information (Services outside the State for Termination of Pregnancies) Act 1995. In the 1970s, the UK jurisdictions experienced a drastic decline in the number of children relinquished for adoption following the introduction there of legalized abortion in the late 1960s.
- 20.
[1998] 4 I.R. 464. See, also, Attorney General v. X [1992] 1 IR 1 and the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in D v Ireland (2006) 43 EHRR SE191.
- 21.
Annually published statistical data reveal that many thousands of young women, with addresses in Ireland, undergo abortion operations in the United Kingdom.
- 22.
- 23.
See, the Report of the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction, Dublin, 2005 which recommended that a child born through surrogacy should be presumed to be that of the commissioning couple. The Commission also recommended the establishment of a regulatory body for assisted human reproduction. These recommendations have not yet been incorporated into Irish law.
- 24.
- 25.
See, further, at: http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Surrogacy
- 26.
[2009] IESC 81.
- 27.
[2013] IEHC 91.
- 28.
Ibid, at para 90.
- 29.
“There were 6,259 children in the care of the state in July 2012, the vast majority of whom were in foster care (5,725) and general residential care (351).” Reply to Dáil question (No 178), 11 October 2012 by Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. See, further, at: http://www.dcya.gov.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=2585&ad=1
- 30.
See, HSE. 2008. Children and families analysis of child care dataset 2007. Dublin: HSE.
- 31.
See, further, at: http://www.dcya.gov.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=2591&ad=1
- 32.
See, further, Foster care—A child centred partnership. Dublin: Stationery Office, 2001 and Gilligan R. 1996. Children adrift in care-can the child care act rescue the 50 % who are in care five years or more. Irish Social Worker 14(1): pp 17–19.
- 33.
See, further, See, HSE. 2008. Children and families analysis of child care dataset 2007. Dublin: HSE.
- 34.
The Adoption Act 1952 confined the use of adoption to: orphans and non-marital children aged between 6 months and 7 years; adopters who were married couples living together, widows, the child’s birth mother/father and certain relatives (on the mother’s side); and to adopters who were of the same religion as the child.
- 35.
See, for example, the Department of Justice and Equality (2013). http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/MagdalenRpt2013. Also, see, the ‘Philomena Lee’ documentary.
- 36.
For example, whereas in 1991 family adoptions constituted 43.6 % of the total of 590 orders, by 2000 this had risen to 68.32 % of 303 domestic adoption orders.
- 37.
In 2004, of the 273 domestic adoption orders issued, 185 involved the adoption of children by family members and only 88 were third party adoptions: 26 resulted from placements by registered adoption societies, 20 were placements by health boards and 22 concerned children in long-term foster placements. The remaining 20 involved foreign children placed for adoption abroad in Guatemala, the Philippines and India, who were then adopted under the Adoption Act 1952 or the Adoption Act 1988.
- 38.
[2003] 1 ILRM 481. Also, see, North Western Health Board v. HW [2001] 3 IR 622 where parental refusal to consent to the administration of the PKU test in respect of their newborn child was upheld by the Supreme Court. In this case, the State was not permitted to rely on Article 42.5 to step into the parental role because it was held that the parents of the child had not failed in their duty either for moral or physical reasons.
- 39.
[1985] IR 375.
- 40.
[2006] IESC 60.
- 41.
- 42.
For example, in 2004 the Adoption Board made 648 adoption orders, of which 375 (58 %) were entries in the Register of Foreign Adoptions. This rate of foreign adoptions is high by international standards. By comparison, in the United Kingdom, which has a population of about 15 times the size of Ireland’s, 367 children were adopted abroad by U.K. based adopters. While in Norway, with a population of 4.6 million, there were 724 such adoptions in 2005.
- 43.
Milotte, M. 1997. Banished babies: The secret history of Ireland’s baby export Business. Dublin: New Island Books, where the author traces how Irish children were made available to foreign couples for the purposes of adoption. He quotes a German newspaper report from 1951 which stated that “Ireland has become a sort of hunting ground today for foreign millionaires who believe they can acquire children to suit their whims.” See, also, the story of Philomena Lee.
- 44.
See, Western Health Board v. M [2001] IESC 104. For an historical account of the difficulties in introducing adoption legislation in Ireland see Whyte, J.H. 1980. Church and state in modern Ireland 1923–1979, 2nd ed. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, at p. 185 and Ferriter, D. 2004. The transformation of Ireland 1900–2000. London: Profile Books.
- 45.
High Court (Flood J) 12 April 1996.
- 46.
[1997] 1 ILRM 15 (SC).
- 47.
See, Council of Europe, Commissioner for Human Rights. 2011. Adoption and children: A human rights perspective. Strasbourg, at: https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1780157
- 48.
Occurring within the terms as defined by the 1991 Act and the 2010 Act.
- 49.
Entries made in the Register of Foreign Adoptions 1991–2010 (pursuant to the Adoption Act 1991, s 5), together with those made in the Register of Intercountry Adoptions 2011–12 (pursuant to the Adoption Act 2010, s 57(2)(b)(ii)).
- 50.
Note that since Russia has not ratified The Hague Convention and does not have a bilateral agreement with Ireland, there are no longer any Irish adoptions from that country.
- 51.
Approximately 1,600 Russian children have been adopted into Irish families: 920 in the period 2004–2010 when the comparative total for Israel was 613. Ireland was engaged in negotiating a bilateral agreement with Russia in 2013.
- 52.
See, Report of An Bord Uchtála. Dublin: Stationery Office, 2006, at para 1.2. In 2004 the Adoption Board made 648 adoption orders, of which 375 (58 %) were entries in the Register of Foreign Adoptions.
- 53.
Ibid.
- 54.
A legal lacuna with inequitable consequences for widows and widowers that has prompted recommendations from the Authority for legislative amendment.
- 55.
See, U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. 2009. Child adoption: Trends and policies. New York: United Nations Publications, at p. 130.
- 56.
The child’s birth certificate is replaced with an adoption certificate on which the birth mother is recorded as the child’s adoptive mother.
- 57.
In 2011, just 232 applicants were declared eligible to adopt by the Adoption Authority, down from 423 in 2010 and 391 in 2009. See, further, at: http://www.irishcatholic.ie/article/adoption-ireland#sthash.UCaWSFCe.dpuf
- 58.
Note that in W.O’R v. E.H. [1996] 2 IR 248 the Supreme Court held that any order allowing the non-marital father (or any other person) access is deemed to have lapsed upon the making of the adoption order. For a broad definition, see Triseliotis, J. 1991. Open adoption. In Open adoption: The philosophy and the practice, ed. A. Mullender. London: British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering, at pp. 17–35.
- 59.
Op cit. Also, see, J.B. and D.B. v. An Bord Uchtála, (1998).
- 60.
- 61.
See, Greene, S., et al. 2008. A study of intercountry adoption outcomes in Ireland. Dublin: Children’s Research Centre, TCD.
- 62.
See, further, ‘Philomena Lee’, the 2013 documentary of an Irish woman whose son was sold by nuns to a U.S. couple.
- 63.
See, Re JH (An Infant): KC and AC v. An Bord Uchtála [1985] IR 375 and Duncan, W., The constitutional protection of parental rights in parenthood in modern society, ed. J.M. Eekelaar and P. Sarcevic, (Dordrecht, 1993 and reproduced in the Report of the Constitutional Review Group. Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996, pp. 612–626.
- 64.
See, for example, The State (Nicolaou v. An Bord Uchtála [1966] IR 567; G v. An Bord Uchtala [1980] IR 32; and WO’R v. EH (Guardianship) [1996] 2 IR 248. Note that in Northampton County Council v. ADF and MF [1982] ILRM 164, Hamilton J held that Articles 41 and 42 of the Constitution, were applicable to married parents and children who were not citizens of Ireland but who were present in the State. In doing so, he refused the order sought by the applicant English county council to enable the respondent child to be adopted in England. See, also, the similar case of London Borough of Sutton v. M [2002] 4 IR 488.
- 65.
The Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012 (Bill No. 78 of 2012).
- 66.
In October 2013, McDermott J ruled in McCrystal v. Minister for Children and Youth Affairs & Ors [2012] IESC 53 that the challenge alleging a lack of government neutrality in presenting the referendum was unfounded. An appeal then lodged is expected to be heard in early 2014.
- 67.
In Ireland the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is given effect by the National Children’s Strategy, launched in 2000, responsibility for the implementation of which rests with the National Children’s Office. See, further, Horgan, ‘The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and Irish Family Law’ (1991) 9 ILT 162.
- 68.
This became part of Irish law on 31 December 2003.
- 69.
See the last report of the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child-Concluding Observations: Ireland 29 September 2006 at: www.ohchr.org/english/countries/ie/
- 70.
In keeping with s 3 of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 which states that a court in assessing guardianship issues must have regard to the welfare of the child as “the first and paramount consideration”.
- 71.
See, the last report of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, CRC/C/IRL/CO/2, Concluding Observations, 2006, at para 23.
- 72.
Following the introduction of the Adoption Act 2010, preceded by the Adoption (Hague Convention, Adoption Authority and Miscellaneous) Act 2008.
- 73.
As this may not occur until several years after placement, the adoption is a virtual fait accompli as there can be no reasonable alternative.
- 74.
Some such opportunities may be available through private or agency based practice but not as a statutory service.
- 75.
The Council was founded in 1961. See, further, at: http://councilofirishadoptionagencies.com
- 76.
Report of the review committee on adoption services. Dublin: Government Publications, 1984, para 7.21.
- 77.
Currently, the following voluntary societies are registered as accredited adoption agencies in Ireland: Cunamh; PACT; St Attracta’s Adoption Society; St Louise Adoption Society; CLANN; St Catherine’s Adoption Society; and St Maura’s Adoption Society.
- 78.
But, see Walsh, J. 1984. In Casebook on Irish family law, ed. W. Binchy. Dublin: Professional Books, at p. viii for a critical analysis of the authority of the Adoption Board (predecessor of the Adoption Authority) to make adoption orders without judicial endorsement.
- 79.
The Authority suggests that the 2010 Act be amended to permit it to proceed with an adoption in circumstances where the birth father has not been consulted rather than delay proceedings to allow for a determination by the High Court.
- 80.
In Eastern Health Board v. An Bord Uchtála [1994] 3 IR 207, which concerned an Irish couple who had brought to Ireland a child born in India, the Supreme Court noted that the only “connecting factor” which a child placed for adoption in Ireland must have is mere residence in Ireland and not Irish citizenship or domicile.
- 81.
See, for example, the Authority’s statement in its annual report 2012 that “natural/birth mothers should not have to adopt their own children in step-parent adoptions and provision should be made to allow them to retain their status as natural parent of the child” (p. 10).
- 82.
[2006] IESC 60. To the same effect see In re J [1966] IR 295 and In re JH (An Infant) [1985] IR 375 where the birth parents of children who later married successfully relied on the provisions of Articles 41 and 42 of the Constitution and regained custody of their child placed for adoption.
- 83.
See, S.I. No 5 of 1998.
- 84.
See, WS v. The Adoption Board and Others, Unreported, High Court, O’Neill J. (6 October 2009).
- 85.
The Adoption Act 2010, s.17.
- 86.
In its annual report for 2012 the Authority recorded that it had granted a total of 79 declarations of eligibility and suitability in the previous 12 months to prospective adopters of Irish children.
- 87.
The same report noted 181 similar declarations in favour of prospective intercountry adopters over the same period.
- 88.
See, State (AG) v. An Bord Uchtála [1957] Ir Jur Rep 35 (Supreme Court) when an adoption order was quashed because a purported joint application by two spouses was in fact made without the knowledge of one of them.
- 89.
However, the Authority has recommended an upper age limit for prospective parents which would ensure a maximum age difference of not more than 42 years between applicant(s) and child at time of placement. It notes that 2012 statistics reveal most intercountry adopters as aged between 40 and 51 years with 40 % being over 45 years of age. See, further, Adoption Authority, Annual Report 2012, at: http://www.aai.gov.ie/attachments/article/32/Annual%20Report%202012.pdf
- 90.
In Ireland, foster carers must provide a minimum of 12 months continuous care and be supported by the Child and Family Agency before they can be considered as applicants. In the U.K. jurisdictions, for example, the foster carers have the right to apply independently of the views of the relevant public authority.
- 91.
In 2011 there were only 2, in 2012 there were 6 and 3 in 2013.
- 92.
In 2011 there were 188 such adoptions, 117 in 2012 and 141 in 2013.
- 93.
See, Adoption Authority, annual report for 2012, further, at: http://www.aai.gov.ie/attachments/article/32/Annual%20Report%202012.pdf
- 94.
Of the 422 orders made in 1997, 36 were in respect of placements made by ‘natural mothers and others’; in 1999, the figures were 317 and 30 respectively; in 2003, 263 and 24; in 2004, 222 and 16.
- 95.
As regards ‘family’ placements, the care and maintenance provisions of s 56 and s 57 of the Health Act 1953 require advance notification of placement to be served on the Child and Family Agency while placements made by that agency are subject to the boarding out regulations. All adoption agency placements must be notified to the Child and Family Agency within 7 days.
- 96.
As Walsh J. stated in the course of his judgment in G v An Bord Uchtála [1980] IR 32 at p. 72.
- 97.
Replicating a similar provision in s.16(3) of the 1952 Act as amended by s.3(5) of the 1988 Act.
- 98.
Except in circumstances where the parent/guardian either suffers from mental infirmity or their whereabouts are unknown.
- 99.
Previously under s 3(1)(I)(A) of the 1988 Act. See, for example, The Southern Health Board v. An Bord Uchtála [2000] 1 IR 165 where the court was satisfied that while the father had actually committed the acts of abuse the mother was also culpable as she had failed to protect her child.
- 100.
See, NAHB v. An Bord Uchtála [2003] 1 ILRM 481.
- 101.
The degree of parental failure must be such as ‘constitutes an abandonment on the part of the parents of all parental rights’.
- 102.
See, for example, The Southern Health Board v. An Bord Uchtála, op cit, and also The Western Board, HB and MB v. An Bord Uchtála [1995] 3 IR 178.
- 103.
In the U.K. jurisdictions, for example, the freeing process has for decades clearly placed a statutory responsibility upon the public child care services to initiate the process whereby a child in care may become available for adoption. In Ireland, this is left to the discretion of a child’s foster carers.
- 104.
See, Articles 41 and 42 of the Constitution.
- 105.
See, for example, RC & PC v. An Bord Uchtála & St Louse’s Adoption Society (8th February, 1985), unreported, HC.
- 106.
Adoption Act 2010, s 24(2).
- 107.
See, however, NAHB v. An Bord Uchtála, op cit, where the clear informed wish of the 12 year old child to be adopted was taken into account by the court when granting the order.
- 108.
[2000] 1 IR 154. In contrast, note that in Scotland the right to give or refuse consent to their adoption has been available to children aged 12 or older from the introduction of the first adoption legislation (the Adoption of Children (Scotland) Act 1930, s.2(3)).
- 109.
[2004] IEHC 60.
- 110.
See, the last report of the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, CRC/C/IRL/CO/2, Concluding Observations, 2006, at para 25(b).
- 111.
For example, the Board’s annual reports reveal that in 1989 the number of children aged 24 months or less at time of placement with third party adopters amounted to 358 out of the total of 366; in 2000, they constituted almost 73 % of the total of 96; and in 2006 accounted for 64 of the 69 placements or 92 %.
- 112.
For example, in 1989 the same report shows 4 such children who were subject to declarations made by the Board in favour of their foster parents under the 1988 Act and 3 who were adopted as a consequence of High Court proceedings taken under that Act. The comparable figures in the 1998 report are 16 and 1 respectively; and in 2000 only 5 orders were made under the 1988 Act while 9 declarations were made of which one concerned a marital child. Effectively, the only children born within marriage and available for adoption (as opposed to those who having been legitimated are then adopted) are those in the care of foster parents.
- 113.
The Board’s annual reports provide the following data: 1996, 54; 1997, 51; 1998, 120; 1999, 176; 2000, 209; 2004, 375; and in 2006, 400. More recently, however, the Authority’s corresponding data reveals a different picture: in 2012 it made 242 entries in the Register of Intercountry Adoptions.
- 114.
From 59 of the 1,115 domestic orders granted in 1980 to 188 of the 615 granted in 1989, 252 of the 400 orders made in 1998, 199 of the 303 made in 2000 and 149 of 222 adoption orders granted in 2006.
- 115.
For example, the Board’s report for 1989 shows that out of a total of 226 family adoptions, only 2 orders were in favour of ‘natural mother alone’, 0 for ‘natural father and wife’ and 2 for ‘natural father alone’. More recent comparable figures are: 1998–0, 0 and 1; 2000–0, 2 and 1; and in 2006, 0, 0 and 0. This information is no longer recorded by the Authority.
- 116.
Compare with The Hague Convention, Article 26:
-
(1) The recognition of an adoption includes recognition of
-
(a) the legal parent-child relationship between the child and his or her adoptive parents;
-
(b) parental responsibility of the adoptive parents for the child;
-
(c) the termination of a pre-existing legal relationship between the child and his or her mother and father, if the adoption has this effect in the Contracting State where it was made.
-
(2) In the case of an adoption having the effect of termination a pre-existing legal parent-child relationship, the child shall enjoy in the receiving State, and in any other Contracting States where the adoption is recognized, rights equivalent to those resulting from adoptions having this effect in each such State.
-
(3) The preceding paragraphs shall not prejudice the application of any provision more favourable for the child, in force in the Contracting State which recognizes the adoption.
-
- 117.
[1998] 2 IR 321.
- 118.
Repeating the wording and effect of s.24(a) of the 1952 Act.
- 119.
See, para 13.3 of the Report.
- 120.
It is also worth noting that, if it can be proven to the Office’s satisfaction that a birth parent of an adopted child is or was an Irish citizen then the child is entitled to be an Irish citizen by descent irrespective of their adoption (as pointed out in the Law Reform Commission report, Consultation paper: Aspects of intercountry adoption law, op cit).
- 121.
See, the Rotunda Girls’ Aid Society case, op cit.
- 122.
Essentially repeating the wording of the equivalent provision in s.24 of the 1952 Act.
- 123.
See, Adoption Board, Annual Report 2006, at p. 16.
- 124.
Now the Child and Family Agency.
- 125.
[1977] IR 287.
- 126.
[2006] IEHC 64, [2007] 1 ILRM 81.
- 127.
Note, however, that sections 7(1)(A) of the 1991 Act, as inserted by the 1998 Act, provides that if an adoption is “set aside, revoked, annulled or otherwise rendered void under and in accordance with the law of the place where it was effected”, it does not automatically follow that the adoption is correspondingly cancelled in Ireland.
- 128.
See, Eekelar, What are Parental Rights’? [1973] 89 LQR 210; Hall The Waning of Parental Rights [1972] CLJ 248; and Bevan and Parry Children Act 1975, pp. 208–239.
- 129.
Barnardos, for example, has provided a post-adoption service (including counselling and mediation) since 1977, see, further, at: http://www.barnardos.ie/what-we-do/our-services/specialist-services/adoption.html
- 130.
See, further, Adoption Rights Alliance at: http://www.adoptionrightsalliance.com/inforecords.htm
- 131.
However, a High Court judgment in 1993 determined that, where an adopted person is seeking information under s 22(5) of the Adoption Act, 1952, then the Board is obliged to inform itself about the circumstances of the individual case and to decide whether to release or withhold the information sought.
- 132.
Section 22(5) of the 1952 Act generally prohibits public access to the Adoption Index. The prior permission of the Adoption Board is required before any information is released from the Index. Section 8 of the 1976 Act prevents a court from ordering the release of any such information unless satisfied that this is in the best interests of the child in question.
- 133.
For example, the Adoption Rights Alliance. See further, at: http://www.adoptionrightsalliance.com/searchandreunion.htm
- 134.
[1998] 2 IR 321. Also, see, Kelly, R. 2005. Motherhood silenced: The experiences of natural mothers on adoption reunion. Dublin: Liffey Press.
- 135.
This draft legislation provided for information disclosure services, the safeguarding of records, establishing and maintaining contact registers and provision of a counselling service for both adopted persons and birth parents.
- 136.
Adoption Act 2010, s 86(2). See, CR v An Bord Uchtála [1994] 1 ILRM 217 where Morris J. advised the Board that there could be no fixed policy regarding access to the Index: the welfare principle required each case to be assessed on its particular merits. Also, see, PB v AL [1996] 1 ILRM 54, DC v DM [1999] 2 IR 150 and PC v An Bord Uchtála, Unreported, High Court, McWilliam J. (25 April 1980).
- 137.
See, An Bord Uchtála. 2007. The national adoption contact preference register. Dublin: The Adoption Board. Launched by the Minister for Children, Mr. Brendan Smith T.D., on Thursday 22nd November, 2007. See, further, at http://www.adoptionboard.ie/booklets/NACPR_final.pdf
- 138.
See, Adoption Board. 2010. Annual report 2008. Dublin: Adoption Board, at p. 49.
- 139.
Practitioner note to author (22.07.10).
- 140.
[1998] 2 IR 321.
- 141.
The ground for establishing the NACPR was prepared by the report of the Law Society of Ireland’s Law Reform Committee. 2000. Adoption law: The case for reform. Dublin: Stationery Office, followed by Adoption legislation: 2003 consultation and proposals for change. Dublin: Stationery Office, 2005.
- 142.
Note that advocacy groups for women forced to work at the Catholic Church’s Magdalene laundries launched a campaign in February 2014 requesting that the government legislate for the release of more than 60,000 files allegedly withheld by the state, private adoption agencies and the Catholic Church.
- 143.
See, Law Commission. 2000. Adoption and its alternatives—A different approach and a new framework, Wellington, New Zealand. This report draws attention to the particularly high rate of intercountry adoption (116 per million in 1998 compared with 26 per million in Sweden and 117 per million in Norway), at p. 119.
- 144.
See, Report of the Review Committee on Adoption Services. 1984. Adoption. Dublin: Government Publications, at p. 10.
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O’Halloran, K. (2015). Ireland. In: The Politics of Adoption. Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice, vol 41. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9777-1_7
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