Ulster Unionist MLA Tom Elliott has called on the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commissioner Michael O’Flaherty to withdraw misleading comments about the current small pool of perspective adoptive parent compared to the large number of children in care waiting for adoption.

 Mr Elliott said: “Following yesterday’s court ruling that would permit same sex couples and unmarried heterosexual couples to adopt children I am surprised that Professor O’Flaherty used the opportunity to mislead the public with his comments.”

 “The NI Human Rights Chief Commissioner said of the decision: ‘It widens the pool of potential adoptive parents in a context of 2,500 children in care, many of whom are ready for adoption but they are not going anywhere because there are not enough adoptive parents out there.”

 “This is inaccurate and misleading! Firstly there are not many of the 2,500 children in care in Northern Ireland ready for adoption, the numbers of children ready for adoption are only a small fraction of this number. Indeed many of the children in care will never even get into the adoption process.”

 “Professor O’Flaherty then states that these children are not going anywhere because there are not enough adoptive parents out there. The Chief Commissioner should really check his facts as there are many prospective adoptive parents, many of whom have been assessed and approved as adoptive parents but cannot be matched with a child as there are so small a number of children ready for adoption and the adoption process is very slow for them to reach that stage.”

 “This is a very emotive issue for many couples who are currently waiting for an adopted child and for Professor O’Flaherty to make these comments is adding to the anguish of these couples who are waiting for a match of a child and getting ever more frustrated. I believe that the Chief Commissioner has been very short-sighted in his comments and has not given any consideration to those couples who have been waiting in the adoption process for months or even years.”

 “Out of all this process we must remember that the children in these processes must come first and foremost and whatever decisions are taken that it is the children’s well-being that are most important.”

 Ends

 Note to Editors:

Tom Elliott is a member of the Board of Adoption UK in Northern Ireland, but is speaking in his capacity as an Ulster Unionist MLA.