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Amendment of section 37 of Principal Act
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18. Section 37 of the Principal Act is amended—
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(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
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(b) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (4):
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“(5) A person may make an application for an adoption order in respect of a child where, at the date of the application—
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(a) the person is—
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(i) a spouse of a parent of the child,
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(ii) a civil partner of a parent of the child, or
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(iii) a cohabitant in a cohabiting couple where the other cohabitant is a parent of the child,
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and
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(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.
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(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.”.
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