New delays on child adoptions from Vietnam
IRISH couples hoping to adopt children from Vietnam will be left in limbo for another month after talks to secure a new agreement failed.
Adoptions from Vietnam to Ireland were halted in May after a five-year agreement between the states come to an end without new procedures in place.
The move left up to 350 prospective parents, who had already been approved for adoption following a lengthy assessment, in the dark as to when their adoption could go ahead.
Last week, Irish officials held further talks with their Vietnamese counterparts to address the problem.
However, while Minister for Children, Barry Andrews, said good progress has been made, they had been unable to secure a new interim agreement.
A spokesperson for Mr Andrews said: "Adoptive parents will want to know if and when adoptions between Ireland and Vietnam will resume.
"However, it is not possible to be definitive on this, as a number of processes on both sides are required before a new agreement can be brought into force."
Shane Downer, chief executive of the International Adoption Association, said: "To date, more than 650 children have been adopted from Vietnam into Ireland, so it has been a very positive agreement.
relationship
"I think there is a very clear intent from both sides to establish a new agreement.
"We have had a very good relationship with Vietnam and the Vietnamese and Irish authorities are working well.
"I hope that, by August, we'll be nearly there, if not there already."
About 2,000 Vietnamese children are adopted overseas each year, a fraction of the overall birth rate, as the authorities there have been placing a greater emphasis on domestic adoptions in recent years.
Vietnam is due to adopt the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption, which sets minimum standards for overseas adoptions, early next year.
Concerns have been raised about corruption in the adoption system there, with the United States suspending adoptions from Vietnam late last year.
A US investigation found examples of orphanages paying destitute parents the equivalent of almost a year's salary to hand over their children. These children were subsequently put up for inter-country adoption.
Foreign couples were also told to make cash donations.
ccrawford@herald.ie
- Caroline Crawford
