OPEN OR SEMI open adoption could potentially be introduced in Ireland.

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone announced today that her department has initiated a review into the introduction of open or semi-open adoption.

“Open adoption generally means a form of adoption in which the biological or adoptive families have access to varying degrees of each other’s personal information and an option for contact. However, we will need to reach a better understanding of what we mean by these terms,” Zappone said.

Necessary reviews

Zappone has said that the review will have to take into account the provisions of The Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016 and a broader review of the entire Adoption Act 2010.

The Adoption (Information) and Tracing Bill 2016 will allow for adopted people to seek out details that were previously impossible to obtain under privacy laws.

Under the terms of the bill, the adopted person is given information that relates solely to them as soon as possible.

The broader review of the Adoption Act is aimed at identifying operational and policy issues that may need to be addressed.

The Department claims that the outcomes of this review will be influenced by a variety of issues such as the legal and constitutional issues in relation to the status of the family under the Constitution, the impact of the referendum on children’s rights and any family relationships legislation.

Zappone says that a report on the findings of the review and consultation will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas no later than 18 months after it begins.

 History of Adoption

The Adoption Authority of Ireland’s annual report 2016 found that family adoptions continue to be the main type of adoption within Ireland, totalling 65 in 2016.

The report also found that 54 children were adopted from abroad by Irish families in 2016 and over the past 25 years, there have been 5,021 intercountry adoptions.

There have been 44,459 adoptions in Ireland since the first Adoption Act in 1952, up to 2016 and the Adoption (Information) and Tracing Bill 2016 will allow all those adopted people a right to access their original birth certificates.