ADOPTIONS FROM Vietnam are unlikely to resume in the near future following the publication of Unicef’s international social service report on adoption from that country, the Minister for Children has confirmed.
Barry Andrews has told The Irish Timesthat adoptions from Vietnam will remain suspended, as there is no bilateral agreement in place. One of the options under consideration was not proceeding with a new agreement, he said, as they were criticised in the ISS report, which recommended instead that all countries ratify the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoptions. He said the report provided the basis for discussion.
Meanwhile the Adoption Bill, which will allow Ireland to ratify the Hague Convention, is back in the Dáil tomorrow. Mr Andrews said he expected it to become law early next year.
He also pointed out that the Vietnamese authorities require an adoption mediation agency to be in place before processing inter-country adoptions. The only Irish mediation agency is the Helping Hands agency, whose licence was revoked in June last by the Vietnamese authorities following the expiry of the bilateral agreement.
Mr Andrews said that Helping Hands is under investigation by the Adoption Board. The Irish Timesunderstands that this centres on the make-up of the $11,100 fees charged by the agency to adopting couples, of which $9,000 is "humanitarian aid" paid to the Vietnamese authorities who assist in the adoptions.
The ISS report is critical of the practice of requiring this aid and was also critical of the manner in which this was presented by Helping Hands to the Adoption Board.
In a statement yesterday, Sharon O’Driscoll, director of the agency, said: “Helping Hands has always been completely transparent in relation to all aspects of its operations and has always kept the Irish Adoption Board fully informed, particularly in relation to applicants’ money.”
She added: “The ‘fee’ is made up of a number of elements, which are always explained to applicants and the Irish Adoption Board. It is evident in various parts of the ISS report that all other countries operating in Vietnam also refer to this as a ‘fee’.”
Unicef’s Ireland director Melanie Verwoerd said: “This ISS report indicates very serious systemic shortcomings in the adoption process in Vietnam . We welcome the Vietnamese government’s commitment to addressing these issues as a matter of urgency.”