The High Court has authorised the Adoption Authority of Ireland to make an adoption order for J.N., aged 13, in favour of his aunt and uncle, and to dispense with the consent of his birth parents. The order followed an application under section 54(2) of the Adoption Act 2010, opposed by J.N.’s birth mother.
In a judgment delivered on 3 March 2025, Ms Justice Nuala Jackson said J.N. had lived with his aunt and uncle since shortly after his birth in 2011 and had never lived with either birth parent. A full care order until he turned 18 was made in 2016. His birth mother accepted that he would remain in his current care arrangement throughout childhood, but argued adoption was unnecessary and could further distance him from her and his sibling.
The birth father, who had little role in J.N.’s life and had no access for many years, took neither a consenting nor opposing position after receiving legal advice. The judge said the statutory requirements still had to be established.
J.N. told the judge he wished to be adopted and saw the carers’ family as his own. The judge considered his view consistent with his age and understanding and found no evidence he was being pressured. She said his wish reflected a sense of belonging and a desire for stability and continuity.
The judgment records that contact between J.N. and his birth mother had become very limited. The judge described difficulties with access both before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, including earlier non-attendance at scheduled visits. She also noted the mother’s account that she had not received adequate support from the Child and Family Agency (CFA), while finding that the agency’s evidence and contemporaneous reports did not fully accord with her account. The court said the judgment did not determine whether the CFA had complied with its separate duty to make reasonable efforts to support parents.
The judge applied six cumulative statutory tests, including whether the parents had been unable to discharge parental duties for 36 months, whether their care would prejudice J.N.’s safety or welfare, abandonment of parental rights, the need for the State to supply the place of the parents, the required period in the prospective adopters’ custody and proportionality. She found each requirement satisfied.
On proportionality, the judge said adoption would give legal recognition to the family life J.N. had experienced and provide the security of family membership. She acknowledged the birth mother would remain his birth mother and said the importance of her and J.N.’s siblings in his life should be recognised. The court concluded the section 54 conditions were fulfilled and made the order sought. It also expressed concern about pandemic-related disruption to contact for families involved in the care system and said the resulting damage should be addressed proactively.