Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 July 2021
1791. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if in dealing with new legislation on surrogacy, it will contain a provision for the introduction of pre-authorised surrogacy agreements prior to conception to ensure that parental rights and responsibilities can be transferred at birth from the surrogate mother to the intended parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35113/21]
View answer1840. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if consideration is being given to the recommendations of a person (details supplied) in the report A Review of Children’s Rights and Best Interests in the Context of Donor-Assisted Human Reproduction and Surrogacy in Irish Law; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35111/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1791 and 1840 together.
As the Deputy will be aware, drafting of a bill on assisted human reproduction (AHR) and associated areas of research is ongoing by officials in my Department, in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General. This comprehensive piece of legislation will encompass the regulation, for the first time in Ireland, of a very wide range of practices, including domestic altruistic surrogacy. Publication of this legislation is a priority for my Department and the Government, and a commitment to enact this legislation is included in the Programme for Government, “Our Shared Future”.
The surrogacy provisions of the Bill outline the specific conditions under which surrogacy in Ireland will be permitted, including a requirement for all surrogacy agreements to be pre-authorised by the AHR Regulatory Authority, the establishment of which the Bill will provide for. The legislation also sets out a court-based mechanism through which the parentage of a child born through surrogacy may be transferred from the surrogate (and her husband, if applicable) to the intending parent(s).
The published report of the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection comprises issues relating to parentage and the right to identity in donor-assisted human reproduction and surrogacy in this jurisdiction and abroad.
As issues relating to international surrogacy raised in the report of the Special Rapporteur concern areas of law that intersect across the remits of several Government Departments, my Department is engaging with the Department of Justice and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth in regard to this issue.
