Internet adoption case could 'never happen here'

The Internet adoption scandal over the sale of American twin babies could never happen in Ireland, according to the Government.

"Irish adoption controls are much tighter here than in other countries and so the current transatlantic adoption case would be breaking the law here," said a spokesman.

The transatlantic custody row over the six-month-old twins erupted when a British couple paid to adopt the baby girls over the Internet. The babies were then brought to the UK on tourist visas despite the fact that an American couple had already bought the twins saying they were the rightful custodians.

It is claimed that this could never happen in Ireland. Our adoption laws have been considerably tightened in the last decade, particularly in relation to adopting children from abroad.

Irish couples who want to adopt a child from another country must first be assessed by a Health Board or a registered adoption society to see if they are suitable and it is only following this that they are granted an eligibility declaration by the adoption board.

The Irish Adoption Board says that authorities in other countries are well aware of the rigorous assessment process here and this is what persuades foreign authorities to allow Irish couples to adopt in their country.