The Adoption Board has called for access rights for the birth fathers of adopted children whose mothers marry other men.
In such cases the husband can only acquire parental rights over the child if the couple adopts the child. When this happens, however, the birth father loses his right of access.
In its recently published 1998 report, the board has called for the power to make access a condition of granting the adoption order. The board says an increasing number of birth fathers are making representations to it when they are told the mother of their child, and her husband, have sought an adoption order.
In some cases the couple agree to allow the birth father access after the adoption, but there is no guarantee that such an agreement can be enforced after the adoption goes through.
"In such circumstances the birth father is informed by the board, prior to the making of the adoption orders, that his continuing access to the child cannot be guaranteed after the making of the adoption order."
It calls on the Minister to explore the possibility of legislation which would allow it "to attach conditions to the making of an adoption order to ensure that a birth father can have continuing access to his child after the making of an adoption order".
But it also wants an easing of the legal position of married couples in which the wife has a child born outside marriage. At present, the husband can acquire rights over the child only if he or she is adopted by the couple.
But this means the mother has to relinquish her sole parental rights over the child and instead take on the rights of an adoptive parent. Birth mothers have complained about this, and the board says changes in the law are necessary.
"The board considers that adoption may not be appropriate in all such cases and that legislation should be introduced to allow for a mother to retain her guardianship of the child while at the same time allowing her husband to acquire parental responsibility over the child."
The board also calls for emergency powers to regulate adoption agencies based outside the State and arranging foreign adoptions for Irish couples. The call was supported last night by both sides in the foreign adoption debate. The International Adoption Association, made up of couples who have adopted abroad, or wish to do so, said it called for registration of agencies in 1998.
The Adopted People's Association, which generally opposes foreign adoption, accused the Government of dragging its feet on the introduction of regulatory legislation.
Of the 400 adoption orders made for Irish children in 1998, most, 252, were in favour of birth mothers and their husbands. One child who had been placed for adoption outside the State was readopted by the birth parents after the breakdown of the original adoption.
Only 99 children were adopted in the traditional way, i.e. by couples who are not related to the birth mother. In these cases the adoption is arranged by an adoption society or health board. In addition, birth mothers privately placed 37 children with couples not related to them and these were ratified. Private placements have since been banned.
A total of 123 foreign adoptions by Irish couples were recognised in 1998.
The board overturned three out of five refusals by health boards to pass couples for adoption. In one case the health board had refused to allow a couple to adopt two siblings from overseas because they had originally been passed to adopt only one child. The couple took the matter to the Adoption Board, which allowed them to adopt both.