Sir, – I would like to applaud both Rosita Boland for her article entitled "Changes to adoption law have shattered my hopes of becoming a parent" and Cian Traynor for his article entitled "Adoption feels further away than ever" (Weekend Review, March 8th).
I am lucky to have completed an adoption as an Irish parent last year but it took over seven years, changing my country of choice three times, an enormous volume of paperwork, assessments, emotional and physical stress, patience and determination, most of which I experienced after I received my original declaration of eligibility and suitability to adopt and not during my initial assessment, which is the part of the process that most people would expect to be the toughest.
These two articles describe the current intercountry adoption process in Ireland very well without any exaggerations, and while I believe thorough assessment is necessary, nobody in the world should have to go through the ridiculous steps that are in place after assessment in Ireland to adopt a child. Prospective adoptive parents put so much effort and preparation into becoming good parents and giving children wonderful lives with opportunities they may otherwise not have, but the incompetence of the Adoption Authority of Ireland and their lack of progress in completing agreements with sending countries is preventing these opportunities for so many children in need of loving families.
We urgently need to have agreements put in place with more sending countries and more reasonable mediation agency fees. I hope that the two articles shock someone enough to do something about the process here in Ireland and put it higher up the agenda. – Yours, etc,
JENNIFER PHILLIPS,
Butterfield View,
Athboy,
Co Meath.
Sir, – I read Ms Boland’s article with shock and dismay. I am an Irish citizen living in Brooklyn, New York. My children and I are fortunate to live in a community where many families have been founded and grown through adoption. The adoption approval process in New York is an arduous one. All those involved know it will be so and are accepting of it. The difference, however, is the knowledge that each case will be treated with respect, fairness and timeliness.
Regardless of outcome, each participant has at least the hope there will be a positive conclusion for both prospective parent and child.
I am saddened and frustrated that my fellow citizens and friends in Ireland are not afforded such a process. – Yours, etc,
ELIZABETH RYAN,
Middagh Street,
Brooklyn Heights,
New York.
Sir, – I would like to respond to Rosita Boland and Cian Traynor’s articles. The decision to even try and adopt is long, off-putting and arduous. It turns you inside out. Once you make that decision and start the adoption process, all other attempts at parenthood are put on hold. Technically you cannot foster a child or be engaged in fertility treatment while you are trying to adopt.
Once you are in the process, your whole life, and understandably so, is put on hold and under scrutiny. It is difficult to change your relationship status and you hope that your medical and financial situation stays the same. This situation lasts many years and in the meantime we are all getting older.
The Irish adoption process is all consuming and takes over your life. How sad then to think that it has been really a waste of time, life purpose, energy and State resources.
Saddest of all is that children remain in orphanages while this terrible mess remains unresolved. – Yours, etc,
CHRISTINE DELANEY,
Manor Court,
Knocknacara, Galway.
Sir, – May I congratulate Rosita Boland on her very brave exposure of the current status of intercountry adoption in Ireland? Her personal story is a reflection of the situation hundreds of Irish people find themselves in. In fact the numbers are greater, as the families in the process without declarations yet and those who wish to start the process but who are too disheartened to, are not counted. They still are part of the big picture.
The Hague Convention was essentially a mechanism to protect children but in reality it has served to all but stop intercountry adoption in Ireland. The post-Hague declaration figures are horrifyingly stark and speak for themselves. The Adoption Authority’s assertion that its success is not measured by the number of adoptions it processes is of cold comfort to the hundreds of thousands of children languishing in orphanages around the world.
It is of no comfort either to the people holding valid declarations of suitability, after years of costly rigorous assessment, with no real prospect of affecting an intercountry adoption, as things stand. The inertia from the authority and Government is ruining people’s lives in Ireland and children’s lives in orphanages. The only resolution is to effect bilateral agreements with the sending countries, as soon as possible, to meet the needs of these children without families. – Yours, etc,
DEIRDRE O’HALLORAN,
Garnett Hall,
Dunboyne, Co Meath.
Sir, – I would like to commend you on publishing Rosita Boland’s article. There are many sides to the Irish adoption story. In my case my partner and I had tried unsuccessfully to conceive for 10 years – 10 years of hope, frustration and disappointment. Yes, of course there was the option of the adoption route. But we decided not to adopt. Why? As your article clearly shows, the Irish adoption process takes many years. It would have been too difficult to put ourselves through all those years of paperwork, interviews and waiting. There are thousands of people like us. The Irish adoption process deters loving people becoming parents to children in need of their love. – Yours, etc,
DENISE DELANEY,
Mill Street,
Galway.
Sir, – As an adoptive parent I would like to thank Rosita Boland for finally highlighting the failure of the new Adoption Act. I would like to bring to your attention the Adoption Authority of Ireland’s mission statement: “We will work to achieve excellence in adoption and adoption related services, with the best interest of children as our primary concern”. As highlighted in the article, some 3½ years after the Hague Convention, there have been a total of 11 post-Hague adoptions, with 537 declarations of eligibility and suitability to adopt outstanding. In reality this means that a total of 537 children around the world needlessly remain in institutional care. The figures speak for themselves, and there is little to suggest anything excellent or in a child’s best interest having been achieved. It is time for the Adoption Authority to reflect on its achievements to date. “Not fit for purpose” springs to my mind. – Yours, etc,
DENISE KIRWAN,
Lemonstown,
Kells,
Co Kilkenny.
Sir, – I had to write to share with you how utterly startling the figures are in relation to post-Hague Convention intercountry adoptions, as essentially they have stopped, and yet the assessments continue and declarations of eligibility and suitability continue to be issued to unsuspecting and ever-hopeful prospective adoptive parents. What is the Adoption Authority of Ireland going to do about this? In fact, what have they been doing at all? Certainly not supporting these people going through the process and certainly not acting in the best interests of children who continue to need loving homes.
The Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald must start walking the walk and light a fire under the authority and get proper arrangements between appropriate countries reopened. The current state of play, in which virtually no adoptions are taking place, is utterly unacceptable and simply wrong. – Yours, etc,
ELLEN Mac NALLY,
Cullenswood Gardens,
Ranelagh, Dublin 6.
Sir, – In a truly heartfelt and compelling article Rosita Boland has brought to light how little is being done by the Adoption Authority of Ireland to facilitate intercountry adoptions in Ireland. The authority’s view that “The success of the authority’s work is not measured by the number of adoptions which it processes but rather by the quality and propriety of those adoptions” seems to show a complete absence of any desire to increase the number of adoptions taking place, despite so many people already holding their post-Hague declarations of eligibility. – Yours, etc,
DEARBHLA BROSNAN,
Riverside,
Hanover Quay,
Dublin 2.
Sir, – It took 17 years for Ireland to ratify the Hague Convention on inter-country adoption. Another three years have passed since it became law. And instead of having a fully working system we have an adoption process that has simply broken down. Why? We need less of the rhetoric from the Minister for Children and the Adoption Authority of Ireland and more action. – Yours, etc,
HILARY McDONAGH,
Bird Avenue,
Clonskeagh,
Dublin 14.