Gay and unmarried couples in NI would be allowed to adopt a child for the first time under government plans to overhaul adoption legislation.
Health Minister Paul Goggins launched a consultation document on changes aimed at putting the needs of the child at the heart of the adoption process.

Other changes include a ban on over-50s adopting children under three, apart from exceptional circumstances.

Couples who want to adopt children from abroad will face higher costs.

Mr Goggins said he wanted to "make adoption work more clearly, consistently and fairly".

"I want to see more adopters recruited, agencies working better, and courts performing more efficiently," he said.


Health minister Paul Goggins said he wanted a fairer system
"Above all, I want to see vulnerable children safe, in permanent families.

"I am confident that these reforms to adoption and permanence planning will transform the life chances of hundreds of children."

Adoption by civil partners and unmarried couples was introduced in England and Wales last year.

Key elements of the consultation document, Adopting the Future, include:

• Legislation which "places the child at the centre of the process";
  Comprehensive standards, guidance and training for agencies to ensure efforts are maximised to achieve the best results for children;


• Introducing the principle that delay in decision-making is likely to prejudice the child's welfare;


• Introducing statutory timescales for certain parts of the adoption process to avoid unnecessary delay at key junctures.


• Legislation requiring courts to draw up timetables in adoption proceedings and give directions to ensure that they are adhered to.


• Options to find a family for a child through a regional system where it has not been possible to do so locally.

According to the government, the number of adoptions in Northern Ireland has fallen significantly since its 1970 peak of 554 to an average of about 150 per year.

Barbara Hutchinson of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering said she was concerned the number of adoptions had fallen in recent years.

"We hope this new framework will result in more children having the opportunity to grow up with the secure family life adoption can provide," she said.

"Existing adoption law was made at a time when society was very different.

"Children needing permanent families are no longer relinquished babies.

"Instead, these children have often experienced neglect or abuse and can have many difficulties."

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