Policies & Publications

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On this page you will shortly be able to find our policies, reports and publications. Apologies for any inconvenience while our site is updated, expanded and revised. For now, we will leave you with brief policy statements in a number of areas.

Post-adoption Services

AdoptionIreland is commited to seeking the establishment of a statutory Post-Adoption State Service which will meet the needs of adult adopted people and their natural families in a fair, open, transparent and efficient manner. We believe that an adopted person has the right to full access to her or his adoption files, whether they are held by the State or voluntary adoption agencies, and that a Post-Adoption Services Board should provide these files automatically upon request.

The Post-Adoption Services Board must include representatives of adopted people in its membership.

It should provide:

Full access to adoption files upon request
Operate a Voluntary Contact Register
Operate a Contact Preference Register
Operate a Tracing & Reunion Service
Operate a National Files Index
Provide counselling, free of charge, to those who request it

And, unlike the current Adoption Board, it must come under the Ombudsman's Act, Freedom of Information Act and Data Protection Acts.

The APA is taking part in the current Adoption Legislation Consultation. More about the Consultation including our written submission to it can be found at Campaigns.

Intercountry Adoption

The Hague Convention for the Protection of Children in Inter-country Adoption allows for the safe adoption of children conducted through State authorities. Thus, private adoption agencies are removed from the equation. Currently, adoption agencies worldwide are involved in what has literally become a multi-million dollar business enterprise. "Fees" as high as €50,000 are charged!

Yet the Irish Government has consistently failed to protect children subject to foreign adoption and has yet to ratify the Hague Convention. Until this Convention is ratified, adequate post-adoption services are introduced and adopted people are given full civil and human rights, there should be no further expansion of intercountry adoption.

Learn more at our Intercountry Adoption section.

Gay and Lesbian Adoption

The Equality Authority recently (May 2002) released a report which included a recommendation that gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to adopt. The APA's response is that there should be no further expansion of adoption until adequate post-adoption services are introduced, adopted people are given full civil and human rights, and the Hague Convention has been ratified.

Investigation into Past Adoption Practices

The APA has called for a full public enquiry into past adoption practices. More on the background to this will be published here shortly.

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