THE Minister of State responsible for adoption policy, Mr Austin Currie, has rejected criticism by a leading childcare agency and representatives of adoptees of his handling of the issue.
Barnardos is angry at the Minister's failure to continue funding an adoption counselling service, which was set up last year following the revelations about Irish children of unmarried mothers being sent to the US up to the 1970s.
It has also criticised the Government's failure to keep its promise to set up a voluntary contact register for adopted people and mothers who gave up their children for adoption.
However, Mr Currie yesterday blamed the delay in establishing the register on a case before the Supreme Court, in which adoptees are seeking the right to information about their family of origin. The Government would set up a register once this case was concluded, he said.
Mr Currie, who is Minister of State at the Departments of Health, Education and Justice, also rejected criticism of his funding of the adoption counselling service. Barnardos says it will have to close the service tomorrow unless last year's funding of £20,000 is renewed.
The Minister responded that the £20,000 grant was a "once off", but pointed out that he had approved overall funding of £200,000 for Barnardos earlier this month.
Ms Norah Gibbons, of Barnardos, said the agency's overall funding had nothing to do with adoption services, for which the demand was as great as ever. She described the Minister's reference to the Supreme Court case as "a smokescreen". "There is nothing stopping him setting up a voluntary contact register now."
The Adopted and Fostered Persons Association said it was "deeply shocked" that the service was to be discontinued at a time when the need for it was greater than ever.
