The couple who adopted an Indonesian boy in 2001 and then returned him to Indonesia are planning legal steps to remove his adoption from the Register of Foreign Adoptions here.
Joe Dowes from Ireland and his Azerbijani wife, Lala, say they are prepared to take proceedings in the High Court to resolve the confusion surrounding the adopted son's citizenship.
In a statement issued to RTÉ News this evening through their solicitor, the couple said they are prepared to take all necessary measures in the best interests of three-year-old Tristan.
In the Dáil there have been calls for the couple to be charged with abandonment of the child if they return to Ireland.
The call was made by Fine Gael spokesperson Bernard Allen, who described it as a 'dreadful situation'.
It emerged earlier that the Government was stepping up its efforts to clarify the situation, with the Department of Foreign Affairs due to send an expert to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, to assess the situation.
A social worker and board member from the Adoption Board are also due to travel to conduct an investigation of Tristan's case.
The Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Noel Treacy, told the Dáil the Department was acting in the most humane and honourable manner in the best interests of the child.
Mr Treacy said the Embassy in Singapore first became aware of the case on 12 March 2004, and since then had been repeatedly trying to establish what the Dowses intended to do about the situation, including a visit to Jakarta this week by the Irish Ambassador to Singapore.
Mr Treacy said the couple must be involved in the process, but said the Department's communication with them had been through their solicitor, as they had insisted on going through legal channels.
Tristan has been in the orphanage for the past year. After the Dowses decided the adoption was not working out they left him in the care of an Indonesian couple who returned him to the orphanage.
This has left Tristan in legal limbo, with questions over his citizenship and the legality of his Indonesian adoption.
Until his situation is clarified Tristan cannot be the subject of further adoption orders.
