Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
1248. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his plans to ensure equality for families that have children through surrogacy; if leave entitlements for such families will be equal to maternity leave arrangements and so on; if he will support amendments to the Health (Assisted Human reproduction Bill) 2022 at committee stage to permit same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43422/22]
View answerPolicy on surrogacy rests with the Minister for Health, and policy on parentage is a matter for the Minister for Justice. It is important to develop legislation on family leave in the context of the legal situation concerning parentage, including in relation to surrogacy. Any changes in the legal situation with regard to parentage and surrogacy are matters for the Minister for Justice and Minister for Health. Amendments to the Health (Assisted Human reproduction Bill) 2022 are a matter for the Minister for Health.
I would like to bring to the attention of the Deputy that, under the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 (as amended), working parents are entitled to seven weeks of paid Parents' Leave for each relevant parent, to be taken in the first two years after the birth or adoptive placement of a child.
The intention of this leave is to enable parents to spend time with their child in the earliest years. It is deliberately non-transferable between parents to ensure that both parents are encouraged and supported in taking time out from work to spend time with their child. This is further supported through the provision of Parents’ Benefit.
The entitlement under the 2019 Act is for each parent in their own right and is not an allocation per family. This is a requirement of the Work Life Balance Directive. The Act was drafted in such a way as to take account of the broad complexion of family life and allows for an entitlement for the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the parent.
This means that each parent of the child, and their respective spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, is entitled to take Parents’ Leave in respect of that child. In effect this means the parents of a child do not have to be a couple in order for each to qualify and that, if in separate relationships, their new partners can also qualify.
Commissioning surrogate parents may be entitled to Parents’ Leave, depending on their circumstances. The father of a child born through surrogacy can qualify for Parents’ Leave if he is the biological father of the child and declared to be the parent of the child. In these circumstances, the father's partner may qualify for Parents’ Leave if they are married to, or in a civil partnership with, the child’s biological father, or have cohabited with the child’s biological father for over 3 years.
