Adoption Authority spent €16k on expert reports in 2022

The process for adopting a child in Ireland can also take up to five years and there are no guarantees. Picture: iStock

The Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI) spent €4,300 on gift packs for children who were adopted last year.

The figures, which were released to the Irish Examiner, show how the children were given a canvas bag containing a candle, pen, and badge following the granting of their adoption order.

Overall, the AAI — which is the regulator for adoptions in Ireland — said it spent €4,845 on gifts, which also covers similar presents for adopted children in 2021 and in 2022.

A spokesperson for the AAI said adoption orders were also granted remotely during the pandemic.

Last week, the Irish Examiner highlighted how there were 102 domestic adoption orders in 2022.

That included adoptions by step-parents, long-term foster carers, and infant adoptions, while the authority received 110 applications overall.

A further breakdown of expenditure in 2022 by the AAI included €12,064.52 which was spent on guardian ad litem reports.

A guardian ad litem — or Gal — is a court-appointed person who gives advice on the best interests of the child.

Expert reports

The watchdog also spent €16,475 on expert reports — but provided no further details on the “experts” involved.

However, despite recommendations by the European Committee on the Rights of the Child, the AAI said it did not engage the services of a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist for adoptions in 2022.

It also did not engage the services of an independent social worker last year.

The Hague Convention on domestic adoption recommends multi-disciplinary teams oversee the adoption of a child. Guidelines for the OHCHR state, “Decision-making on alternative care in the best interests of the child […] should be based on rigorous assessment, planning and review, through established structures and mechanisms, and carried out on a case-by-case basis by suitably qualified professionals in a multi-disciplinary team.” 

The process for adopting a child in Ireland can also take up to five years and there are no guarantees.

The process begins with a potential parent/parents applying for a declaration of eligibility and suitability from the Child and Family Agency, Tusla.

Following a positive recommendation on the assessment, the application is then forwarded to a Local Adoption Committee (LAC), for further review.

If the outcome there is successful, the application is then sent to the AAI, where a matching committee will oversee the assessments provided for the children and potential adopters as part of the Adoption Act 2010 as amended 2016/2017.

The AAI recently told the Irish Examiner that between 20 and 25 potential adopters were waiting to be matched with an infant for domestic adoptions.

However, most of those applicants will not be successful because there are only about five to seven infants placed for adoption every year, according to the Adoption Authority of Ireland.

The level of domestic adoptions has fallen dramatically in recent decades.