The central unit which assesses couples from Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow applying to adopt children from abroad is to be replaced by three local units in a bid to eliminate delays.
Criticising as "unacceptable" the arrangements for carrying out assessments and delays in completing them, the chief executive of the Eastern Regional Health Authority, Mr Donal O'Shea, said each of the three health boards in the region will set up its own inter-country adoption unit.
The International Adoption Association which lobbies on behalf of couples seeking to adopt abroad has been critical of delays in the region, saying the number of assessments completed per social worker is less than half that recommended in a Department of Health and Children report. By contrast, health boards outside the ERHA region have dramatically cut waiting times, it says.
The new units will be put in place urgently, Mr O'Shea said.
