A dispute between a couple and the Adoption Board arising from the couple's fears that actions by the Board would prevent them adopting a baby girl from Ethiopia has been settled.
The couple, who previously adopted another Ethiopian child, are proceeding with the second proposed adoption and one of them is in Ethiopia this week in an effort to finalise it amid continuing uncertainty whether Ethiopian adoptions are in accordance with Irish law.
Mr Peter Finlay SC, for the couple, told Mr Justice Garret Sheehan in the High Court today he was happy to say the proceedings between the Adoption Board and the couple had been resolved and terms of settlement agreed between the sides.
He said an order for damages made by the judge earlier this week could be vacated and in its place inserted an order for costs.
The couple had claimed they were compelled to take the legal action as, they claimed, actions by the Adoption Board were preventing them from proceeding with the adoption. The Board denied those claims but said it had concerns about whether Ethiopian law on adoption was compatible with Irish law including whether such adoptions terminate the rights of natural parents.
In a judgment last Monday Mr Justice Sheehan ruled in favour of the Adoption Board in relation to the issuing of a circular letter which the couple claimed was at the centre of their inability to finalise the adoption. He said the Board was exercising its statutory power in accordance with the Adoption Act and was acting in the public interest.
However, he also ruled that the Board had had a duty to inform the parents in writing that they had issued the circular which would have given them an opportunity to take legal advice on the matter. He referred to the time and expense the couple had been put to taking the case and ruled they were entitled to damages in relation to not being informed of the circular.