Group tries to aid Vietnam adoptions

A high-level delegation from the Adoption Board is in Vietnam to try and expedite 20 adoptions from the country.

The 20 couples involved in the adoptions received letters informing them of the trip. They were told the delegation would be headed by Adoption Board chairman Geoffrey Shannon and include the board’s chief executive, registrar and principal social worker.

‘‘In the situation where these adoptions proceed, it will be the function of the Adoption Board to determine in each case, on the basis of the facts presented, whether to grant that adoption an entry in the register of foreign adoptions," the letter stated.

Ireland’s bilateral adoption agreement with Vietnam lapsed on May 1 after five years in existence. The failure to establish a new agreement has left hundreds of people in an uncertain position. The 20 applications that are the subject of this visit were received in Vietnam before the agreement lapsed.

In total, almost 300 people have been approved to adopt from Vietnam by the Adoption Board, after going through a lengthy approval assessment process.

Minister for Children Barry Andrews has said that Ireland did not renew the adoption agreement with Vietnam because of concerns about adoption procedures there.

While adoption groups and opposition politicians accused Andrews of leaving it too late to reach a new agreement, two UN reports have since raised concerns about the adoption process in Vietnam.

If the government decides against pursuing a new agreement with Vietnam, adoptions will not restart until the Hague Convention on intercountry adoptions is ratified by the Vietnamese government.

It is unlikely to be ratified before 2011,which would leave many Irish couples in limbo. The government said it would consider the reports before making a decision about an agreement with Vietnam.