Couples looking to adopt in Russia may lose children

Couples looking to adopt in Russia may lose children

Children's Minister is urged to change law

JEROME REILLY – 20 OCTOBER 2013

LISA and Michael Fennessy returned from Russia with love – for a beautiful baby boy who would make their family complete.

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But now their planned adoption of 19-month-old Alex from the Arkangel region has been caught in an international legal quagmire, which could yet scupper their dreams for Alex to become the latest addition to their family.

Alex was to become a baby brother to five-year-old Lee, whom they adopted from Vietnam as an infant.

Now the Fennessys, living in Ballyduff, Co Waterford, are among at least five couples who desperately want to adopt a Russian child and who have been caught in a legal morass not of their making.

"We received a referral for Alex earlier this year and went to Russia in June to meet him. We really bonded with him over the days that we were there. He is a wonderful little boy," Lisa said.

But just as they returned home full of joy and confident the adoption would go ahead, the Russian authorities changed their national adoption laws, which meant that children eligible for adoption in Russia have to stay on a federal database for 12 months – a change from the previous six months' duration.

"What that means is that Alex would not be available for adoption to us until December 29," Lisa told the Sunday Independent.

That would have been okay but the adoption has been thrown into doubt because of another legal problem in Ireland.

In 2010, our Adoption Act was changed on signing the Hague convention .

It means that for foreign adoptions with non-Hague countries, including Russia, families' declarations of eligibility/suitability (licence to adopt) were granted only until October 31, 2013.

That means a race against time. Unless there is some change by our Government, the five families who want to adopt Russian children will fall into a legal abyss.

Last week, Lisa met Children's Minister Frances Fitzgerald to ask for urgent legislative help to fast-track legal changes.

Diplomatic overtures to the Russian authorities have yet to bear fruit, the minister told the couple.

Fianna Fail spokesperson on Children Robert Troy told the Sunday Independent that there is an immediate priority for Children's Minister Frances Fitzgerald to deal with the legislative roadblock.