Adoption agencies to be struck off for ‘wrongdoing’

ANY adoption agency which engages in illegal practices should be de-registered and if necessary the case referred to An Garda Síochána, the chairman of the Adoption Board has said.

The issue of illegal adoptions was raised with Geoffrey Shannon following the Irish Examiner’s investigation into the case of Tressa Reeves, whose son was illegally adopted and falsely registered as the natural child of the adoptive parents. This was facilitated by St Patrick’s Guild adoption agency, which remains fully accredited by the Adoption Board, despite the board being aware of the case since 2001.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Prime Time, chairman of the Adoption Board Geoffrey Shannon gave a personal guarantee that any such cases would be investigated and if necessary referred to the relevant authorities.