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Children who may be adopted
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12. The Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 23:
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“23. (1) The Authority shall not make an adoption order in respect of a child unless—
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(a) the child—
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(i) resides in the State, and
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(ii) is, at the date of the making of the adoption order, less than 18 years of age,
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and
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(b) the child has—
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(i) in a case where the applicant is a step parent of the child, a home with the child’s parent and that step parent, for a continuous period of not less than 2 years at the date of the application for the adoption order, or
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(ii) in any other case, been in the care of the applicants for the prescribed period (if any).
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(2) The Authority, having regard to the particular circumstances of the case, may make an adoption order in respect of a child notwithstanding that the child has not—
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(a) in a case where the applicant is a step parent of the child, a home with the child’s parent and that step parent, for a continuous period of not less than 2 years at the date of the application for the adoption order, or
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(b) in any other case, been in the care of the applicants for the prescribed period under subsection (1)(b)(ii).”.
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