Couples will find it much harder to adopt children from abroad once new laws are enacted this year.

It emerged yesterday that the new rules will prevent potential parents from adopting children from Russia -- currently the single biggest source of foreign adoptions in Ireland.

They will also be subjected to medical checks for the first time, which could hinder their inter-country adoption applications, as has been the case in Britain.

The new measures were outlined yesterday by Children's Minister Barry Andrews in a tough new adoption bill which could become law this year.

The bill embraces the international protocols of the Hague Convention on the protection of children and other bi-lateral agreements.

Russia does not have a bi-lateral agreement with Ireland and will be closed off to Irish families once the law is in force.

Couples hoping to adopt Russian children before it comes into force are unlikely to be able to do so before next year, say legal experts.

The Adoption Bill 2009 will also see the formation of a new Adoption Authority, replacing the current Adoption Board.

Mr Andrews said: "I know that the adoption process can be lengthy but it is very important to have a rigorous system in place in which we can have confidence."

Geoffrey Shannon, chairman of the Adoption Board, acknowledged the concerns of some campaigners over the provision of post-adoption services. "It is a highly challenging area but we will not be found wanting," he said.

The Hague Convention is an international law which establishes minimum standards for the adoption of children between countries and guards against child abduction.

Introducing the bill yesterday, Mr Andrews confirmed Russia and countries such as Ethiopia will be excluded when the bill becomes law.

Organisations including children's charity Barnardos broadly welcomed the bill but some social workers expressed concern at the failure to impose an upper age limit, which means couples will still be in the dark over whether they can apply for adoption or not.

Addressing the minister directly at yesterday's press conference, the Health Service Executive's principal social worker Katherine Burke, claimed her staff were "handcuffed" over flaws in the present system.

She said: "there is no upper age limit. I can't say how difficult that is when we meet wonderful Irish people that are, say, 50 or 52, asking 'why am I not able to adopt?'''

Defined

Without a defined upper age limit, couples wishing to adopt are left unclear about whether they qualify -- leading to some being rejected, while others of the same age are allowed to adopt.

Senior officials at the Department of Health and Children said there had been some diplomatic contact with Russia about the law changes and the possibility of forging a bi-lateral agreement.

They said the department would liaise with the department of foreign affairs over the matter and there had already been some informal contact with Ethiopia.

Until now, parents have been free to organise an international adoption once they have received a declaration of suitability from adoption authorities here. At present about 75 countries have ratified the Hague Convention.

Official figures for 2007 contained in the Adoption Authority's annual report, the latest figures available, show that a total of 377 foreign children were adopted in the period by Irish families.

Russia (160) and Vietnam (130) accounted for most adoptions.

- Ciaran byrne