By Aisling Byrne
The High Court has authorised the adoption of a 17-year-old girl by the couple who have cared for her since infancy, despite her birth father's opposition to his consent being dispensed with.
Y, who was born in November 2007, had lived with the prospective adoptive parents, A and H, since she was only weeks old. Her birth mother consented to the adoption. Her birth father, N, travelled to court and opposed the application.
Mr Justice Jordan criticised the timing of the proceedings, which were issued on 25 June 2025 only months before Y's 18th birthday. He said leaving important adoption applications until the cusp of adulthood was undesirable and potentially unfair to parents seeking to object.
The court nevertheless had to determine Y's best interests. Evidence before it showed that she wanted to be adopted and had written two letters asking that the adoption proceed. The judge said refusing her wishes was likely to have a significant negative effect on her.
Y has anxiety and has been outside formal education for several years. The court noted that her day-to-day emotional, social and care needs had throughout her life been met by A and H. A full care order had been granted in 2014.
N disputed aspects of the evidence and maintained that the foster parents had influenced Y's wishes. The judge avoided findings of blame where factual conflicts could not fairly be resolved on affidavit evidence. However, he found that the statutory tests were met, including that the birth parents had not exercised the parental role for the required period and that there was no realistic prospect of N taking over Y's care without prejudicially affecting her welfare.
The court stressed that the legal concept of abandonment in the Adoption Act concerned parental rights and responsibilities, not necessarily physical abandonment of a child.
An order was made authorising the Adoption Authority to make the adoption order and dispensing with any required parental consent.