Kathleen Funchion
Question:5. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Health when he will provide for the recognition of parentage for children born through surrogacy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17406/23]
View answerThursday, 20 April 2023
Questions (5, 57)
Kathleen Funchion
Question:57. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Health the progress or update on the recognition of parentage for children born through surrogacy (details supplied). [15390/23]
View answerOral answers (6 contributions)
I thank my colleague, Deputy Cullinane, for allowing me to ask a priority question. I am anxious to get an update on the surrogacy legislation. I mentioned in the previous round of questions to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth that a great announcement has been made but as he is not the lead Minister, he had limited information. I am anxious to know, as are families, at what stage this legislation is, what the timeframe for it is and when we will see it at the committee.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 and 57 together.
I thank the Deputy. This matter is also important to me and we are pushing very hard on it. The assisted human reproduction, AHR, legislation would have been passed and in operation by now. With broad political agreement, we paused it to ensure we could bring in some substantial amendments on Committee Stage around surrogacy. In mid-September last year, I secured Government approval for the policy approach in respect of the regulation of international surrogacy. The Deputy will be aware that we have accepted nearly all the recommendations in the report. There were a few on which the officials came back and indicated they did not work. We have discussed these with various members of the group and the advocacy groups. People broadly agreed with them. Some were technical, while others were on protecting the surrogate, the intending parents or the child. I do not think there was any controversy around the proposed changes.
The formal drafting process by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, which is being done with the Departments of Health, Justice, and Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, is well under way. It involves comprehensive drafting. As I have said to colleagues in the Dáil and Seanad and the advocacy groups, we have asked the three Departments to put together heads of Bill and then detailed legislation that ordinarily would take several years to complete. We have asked them to do this in a very short time and they have done so. I was happy that we were able to go to the Government before Christmas to get full approval. The drafting is well under way. I will need to bring the final detailed amendments back to the Cabinet for approval. I will then refer the Bill to the Joint Committee on Health and it will be in its hands. I expect, based on how committed everyone is to it, that the committee will find time as quickly as possible. It is crucial that the final detailed provisions are robust. The need to be able to withstand rigorous scrutiny considering the range and complexities involved and the rights of the various parties. It is entirely possible that aspects of the legislation will be challenged by different parties and it needs to be able to stand up to scrutiny. It is intended that the new parts, as well as the recognition of certain past surrogacy arrangements, will be introduced. We will, therefore, address retrospective and future-looking elements.
I reiterate my commitment to ensuring that both the goal for providing the route to formal recognition of past surrogacy arrangements or surrogacy arrangements in other jurisdictions is achieved and that a robust regulatory framework for AHR more broadly is put in place. The AHR Bill has been slightly lost in the very understandable focus on surrogacy but, apart from the surrogacy element, the AHR Bill is also very important. It provides the legislative framework for IVF and many other measures we intend to introduce later this year.
In short, my hope and intention is that we will be debating the legislation in the House in the summer term. I would love to have it through all the Houses and signed off by the President before the Dáil goes into recess.
I am delighted to hear the Minister hopes the Bill will be signed off before the summer recess. That is what we all hope for.
The AHR Bill was at pre-legislative stage in 2017, so it preceded the Joint Committee on International Surrogacy by five years. I do not think the Minister was intending to suggest otherwise but surrogacy certainly did not cause the delay to the AHR Bill. I want to make that clear.
I am really anxious for parents who are waiting on the retrospective element of this. I had asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if there was a way to deal with retrospection now given that we know we are bringing in this legislation. I am delighted to hear that the Government has taken on the recommendations of the Joint Committee on International Surrogacy because it worked very hard and its recommendations were excellent. That was good news and there was a great day in December but we are now at the end of April. The Minister stated he hoped the Bill will be passed before the summer recess. I hope it will be pushed by the Government and we will have it before the summer recess.
I would love to see that happen. It depends on the time the Joint Committee on Health is able to give over to the Bill. I am conscious the committee has a huge amount of work on its plate but hopefully it will give over the time. I will get it over to it for its review shortly.
We need to do the retrospective element as part of the legislation. It is really important. Like Deputy Funchion and many other colleagues, I have met the parents, the mums and dads, and the kids. It is going to be a great day when we pass this legislation and rightly recognise these children, their rights and the rights of their parents. It will be a very important day and it will happen this year. I know people have been waiting a long time. We need to do it as part of the legislation so it is robust and on a statutory basis.
I will make two other points. I mention in particular my constituents, Brian and Kathy Egan, from my home town of Callan in County Kilkenny. They are currently in the High Court in relation to this. They are an example of a family who are courageously putting their story out there at a very difficult time in their lives. It shows that not everyone has the time. That is why I will continue to raise this matter at every opportunity. As soon as I know the Bill is with the Joint Committee on Health, I will be on to it asking it very nicely to push it along.
On retrospection, I always chance asking if it can be dealt with now because, as the saying goes, if you do not ask, you will never know. When the legislation is passed, does the Minister expect that people will then be able to go for parental orders? There is some concern in the groups that this could be delayed if an agency is established for people engaging in surrogacy in the future. That is understandable. Will the retrospective element be signed off as soon as the legislation is up and running?
The Egans were in with us as part of the group when we announced this. It was a great honour to meet them.
The answer to the Deputy’s question is "Yes". On whether the retrospective element requires the new agency to be set up, the answer is "No". We are very deliberately putting the legislation together in such a way that parents will be able to go for court orders and it will not require the agency to be set up. The agency will take time to set up. It will need to hire staff and will then be involved in developing a number of regulations.
Critically, as soon as this legislation is passed and signed by the President, there may be some procedural issues that will have to be put in place. I have no doubt there are. However, once that is done, it will be a matter of parents seeking and receiving court orders under the new Act.