Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 July 2018
555. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if the legal parentage rights of same-sex couples who conceive a child through surrogacy will be addressed in upcoming legislation amending the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015. [30345/18]
View answer617. Deputy Noel Rock asked the Minister for Health when he expects the enactment of legislation to amend the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 to allow both male same-sex partners to sign a surrogate child's birth certificate; the timeline for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30670/18]
View answer668. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Health if he will amend the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 in order that the names of both men in a same-sex marriage can appear on the birth certificate of their son born through surrogacy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30845/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 555, 617 and 668 together.
I received Government approval on Thursday 5 July to allow the publication of the Children and Family Relationships (Amendment) Bill 2018 and enable the Bill's introduction in Dáil Éireann this week. The specific purpose of this Amendment Bill is to correct a typographical and technical error in the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015, which will facilitate the subsequent commencement of Parts 2 and 3 of that Act and makes no change to the policy intention of the Act of 2015.
The Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 was enacted to modernise family law in a way that is inclusive of and sensitive to the reality of contemporary family life in Ireland and to meet the needs of children living in diverse family types. Parts 2 and 3 of the Act, for which I am responsible, are key elements of the Act and are concerned with the rights of children conceived through the use of donor embryos or gametes.
The Children and Family Relationships Act specifically relates to procedures where the intending mother is also the birth mother. As such this Act does not encompass surrogacy.
Provisions relating to the regulation of surrogacy are included in Part 6 of the General Scheme of the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill 2017. Officials in the Department of Health are engaging with the Office of the Attorney General in relation to the process of drafting the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill.
