Adoption (Amendment) Act 2017

Amendment of section 37 of Principal Act

18. Section 37 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by the substitution of “A person habitually resident in the State, a step parent, a married couple married to each other, a couple who are civil partners of each other or a cohabiting couple” for “A person habitually resident in the State, or a married couple married to each other”, and

(b) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (4):

“(5) A person may make an application for an adoption order in respect of a child where, at the date of the application—

(a) the person is—

(i) a spouse of a parent of the child,

(ii) a civil partner of a parent of the child, or

(iii) a cohabitant in a cohabiting couple where the other cohabitant is a parent of the child,

and

(b) the child, in respect of whom the adoption order is sought, has a home with the child’s parent and that person (in this Act referred to as a ‘step parent’), for a continuous period of not less than 2 years.

(6) The Authority, having regard to the particular circumstances of the case may accept an application for an adoption order in respect of a child notwithstanding that the child has not 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.”.