TWO Irish couples who want to adopt Chinese babies and claimed the Eastern Health Board breached its statutory duty by taking two years to assess them for suitability have lost their appeal in the Supreme Court.
The couples involved in yesterday's case are not those who last week won a case against the Adoption Board allowing them to adopt Chinese babies.
In yesterday's proceedings, the couples were appealing a High Court ruling rejecting their claim.
Mr Justice Keane, in dismissing the appeal, said the couples were told by the health board that they would have to attend an information session on May 16th last.
They were also informed that there would be an additional delay of at least seven or eight months before a social worker began the process of assessment, and that the assessment itself would take a further year.
The couples claimed the waiting periods for assessment were significantly less in other health board areas around the country.
The judge said the relevant provisions of the Adoption Acts 1952 to 1991 provided that couples wanting to adopt should be assessed for suitability.
The 1991 Act also provided that the health board should carry out an assessment "as soon as practicable".
Mr Justice Keane said it was clear the obligation on the Eastern Health Board was not to carry out the assessment as soon as possible.
The issue in the present case could not be resolved by a comparison of delays in different health board areas. It would be surprising if there was not a considerable variation, having regard to the significantly higher number of applications for foreign adoptions in the more heavily populated areas, and a greater demand on resources.