A massive ninety-one percent of people believe that when a child is being placed for adoption, it is best to place the child with a man and a woman, a new opinion poll conducted by Amarach Research on behalf of The Iona Institute has found.

The new Children and Family Relationships Bill contains no such preference meaning.

The question put to respondents was as follows:

When a child is available for adoption, who is it best to place the child with? (rank in order of preference, 1 for ‘best’ and ‘5’ for least best)

A man and woman

A man

A woman

Two women

Two men

(NB: The above options were rotated)

Ninety-one percent of respondents said their first preference is a man and a woman.

The second preference was a woman on her own, followed by two women, then a man on his own, and finally by two men.

The poll therefore makes absolutely clear that the overwhelming choice for Irish people when a child is being placed for adoption is for that child to be placed with a man and a woman. This does not exclude other options, but it means they believe there should be an order of preference, and the preference is very clear.

Commenting on the poll, Iona Institute Director, David Quinn said: “The poll shows that what Irish people want in respect of our adoption law, and what the Children and Family Relationships Bill will bring about, are completely at variance. No preference for placing a child with a mother and a father is to be found in the Bill. No assumption is made that it is in a child’s best interests to be placed with a mother and father when he or she is being placed for adoption”.

He continued: “There will be circumstances when the preference for motherhood and fatherhood could be set aside in the case of a particular child, but good reasons should always be offered for doing this. However, the philosophy behind the Bill is that there is no advantage, all other things being equal, in placing a child with a man and a woman above two men or two women.”

The Iona Institute question was asked as part of a monthly omnibus survey by Amárach Research last month, comprising an online sample of 1,000 adults aged 16 and over, weighted to represent the total adult population.