Adoption practises - Children are not sale items

Under the Adoption Act 2010 people in Ireland can only adopt children from countries that have signed the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption, or from countries with which this country has a bilateral adoption agreement.

Bilateral agreements with countries such as Russia, Vietnam and Ethiopia have collapsed in recent years. There are hopeful signs that adoptions from Vietnam can be resumed in the near future.

Florida, which comes under the Hague Convention as part of the US, has become a popular place for Irish people wishing to adopt. Five children have already been adopted from Florida this year, but questions are being raised about further adoptions from that state.

It is a core tenet of both Irish law and the Hague Convention that in instances of adoption, only reasonable levels of professional legal fees can be paid, and all reimbursements of expenses must be justifiable. This is not designed to impede adoption but to ensure that adoption agencies do not engage in the commercial trafficking of children.

No country should permit children to be bought and sold like a commodity.