The High Court authorised the Adoption Authority of Ireland to make an adoption order for C. in favour of her foster parents and dispensed with the birth mother’s consent. The ruling followed a hearing on 12 October 2017 under section 54(2) of the Adoption Act 2010. The judgment was delivered on 27 October 2017.
C., whose identity is protected in the judgment, was born in January 2000 and had lived with her prospective adoptive parents since she was about nine months old. The court said they had provided a stable family home and supported her through school, despite her mild learning disability. She had become part of a family unit with a foster brother and a half-brother.
The birth mother opposed the application. Her counsel argued that C.’s learning disability and alleged lack of comprehension meant she did not truly understand the nature and permanent consequences of adoption. The mother also argued that she had not abandoned her parental rights and that adoption was unnecessary and not in C.’s best interests. She accepted that C. had been well cared for and that there had been no access since about 2014. A full care order was in place from 6 November 2015 until 18 January 2018.
The court heard C.’s wishes, as required where practicable under section 54(3). At 17 years and nine months, she told the court she wanted to be adopted so she could be fully integrated into the family. The judge described her as mature and confident, and found she had a clear understanding of the application. A clinical psychologist, Ms. Byrne Lynch, testified that C. understood the proceedings despite her mild intellectual disability.
The judge found that both biological parents had failed in their duty towards C. since her birth and had left her custody and care to the foster parents, who had made key decisions about her health, education and welfare. The court said the mother’s opposition did not disprove abandonment. It concluded that adoption was an appropriate means of supplying the place of the parents and that the statutory requirements were met.
The order authorised the Adoption Authority to make the adoption order and dispensed with the birth mother’s consent. The judgment does not state that the Authority had already made the adoption order.