Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 November 2022
310. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 724 of 18 October 2022, the timeline that he is working towards for the publication of his amendments to the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022 to include provisions for international surrogacy; when he expects this Bill to reach Committee stage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57203/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFurther to Parliamentary Question No. 724 of October 18th 2022, as advised, following the publication of the Final Report of the Special Oireachtas Joint Committee on International Surrogacy, an Inter-Departmental Group was established to review the Report’s recommendations, along with other relevant matters, with the aim of determining an agreed policy position and suitable next steps, in the form of a unified Policy Paper and appropriate legislative proposals.
The work of the Group is at an advanced stage and it is envisaged that in the coming weeks Minister McEntee, Minister O’Gorman and myself will be in a position to submit policy and draft legislative proposals for the consideration of Cabinet in respect of both the regulation of international surrogacy and the recognition of past surrogacy arrangements (domestic and international).
It is to be noted that if such policy and legislative proposals are approved by Government they will be required to be formally drafted by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. Given the magnitude of the constitutional and legal issues which are likely to arise from such proposals, significant input from the Office of the Attorney General will also be required.
As previously advised, I cannot provide a definitive timeline as to when Committee Stage – which will obviously also involve close scrutiny of, and potential amendment to, the 11 Parts of the published Bill – will be scheduled. Nevertheless, I can assure the Deputy that I wish to progress this much-needed and long-awaited piece of legislation as quickly as possible to ensure both that the goal of providing for a route to formal recognition by the State 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.
